Glorious Mission 1937

On May 5th, the navy finally reached a conclusion. Chang Zhiguo, Jiang Haitao, and Tian Haiyang reported to Chen Feng in the Lord's Mansion Township, and Chen Feng met them in the study of the Lord's Mansion.

"Sit down! You can tell from your exhausted looks that you have worked hard these few days!" Chen Feng said with a smile.

After the three of them sat down, Chang Zhiguo said: "Commander, we analyzed the situation of the Japanese navy we have, and compared our existing naval ships, and found that our army is more powerful in terms of large warships. The Japanese army is very different, especially the battleships. The Japanese army has as many as ten battleships in active service, and at least two super battleships are being built overtime, but we only have 3 battleships. In terms of performance, they can only compete with the Japanese Navy. The worst King Kong is about the same."

"In addition, the Japanese army has 38 cruisers, while we only have 30. Among them, one-third of the cruisers are old things eliminated by the United States and the Soviet Union. The most important thing is that the rest of the newly-built cruisers cannot compete with the Japanese cruisers. , the main reason is that our main artillery method is comparable to that of the Japanese army. The destroyers and frigates are also similar, and they cannot be compared with the Japanese army.”

Chen Feng looked at Chang Zhiguo and said, "After eliminating all the ships that can't fight or can only fight in offshore waters, how many ships are left in our navy?"

田海洋陈生回答道：“战列舰3艘、航母5艘、重巡洋舰5艘、轻巡洋舰13艘、驱逐舰18艘、护卫舰29艘，其他辅助舰艇29艘，潜艇12艘。总计114艘！”

"How many more warships do we need to compete with the Japanese navy?" Chen Feng asked straight to the point.

常志国回到道：“主战航母5艘、轻型航母8艘、扶桑级战列舰10艘、高雄级重巡洋舰30艘、其他各种战舰150艘。要是想一句压到日本海军，甚至于全歼日本联合舰队至少还要增加3分之一。”

"If we get so many warships in a short period of time, will our navy be able to compete with the Japanese navy?" Chen Feng asked in a deep voice. [

"That's not true. The navy is a highly professional branch of the military. It is not possible to improve combat effectiveness with warships. With warships, there must be enough experienced officers and soldiers, and it will take a period of time to develop combat effectiveness. Give full play to the strongest strength of the warships. If we really have so many warships, we will definitely be able to compete with the Japanese navy after half a year of running-in. At worst, we will not lose as badly as last time. None." Jiang Haitao replied.

Chang Zhiguo sighed and said, "Commander, even though that is the case, it is almost impossible to get so many warships in a short period of time. Warships are not the same as rifles. They can be produced if they are produced. Maybe sometimes it only takes a few hours or even a few minutes for us to sink a warship, but it takes a lot of time to build a warship, and it takes at least one to two years for a giant ship like a battleship. Advanced shipbuilding technology is also required!"

Tian Haiyang also said: "Commander, in addition to time. Building so many warships also requires a lot of money. We have made a simple budget, just three types of warships: aircraft carrier, battleship and cruiser. If we build according to the number on the list or If it is a purchase, it needs at least 40 billion U.S. dollars."

"40 billion US dollars?" Chen Feng was taken aback.

"Yes, Commander, it is a conservative estimate of 40 billion U.S. dollars. If other warships are included, it will cost at least 60 billion U.S. dollars! And 60 billion U.S. dollars can form 300 million elite troops or 100 aviation divisions, or even more, so I still feel humble Spend such a big price to develop the navy."

After listening to Chang Zhiguo's words, Chen Feng fell into deep thought. It's easy to talk about the main battle carrier and light carrier, even if they don't say it, he will add it, but the 10 Nagato-class battleships make Chen Feng a little uncertain. .

The Fuso-class battleship is the first of the "Super Crossbow-class" warships originally built by the Japanese Navy. The so-called crossbow-class ships refer to the British Fear-class battleships. Its firepower greatly exceeded the level at that time. Most of the general warships at that time were equipped with There are four 30 cm guns, while the Fear-class battleship is unprecedentedly equipped with ten 30 cm main guns, which are installed on five consecutive turrets, one in front, one in rear, two in left and right.

It has a displacement of 34700 tons, a total length of 21275m, a full width of 3308m, an endurance of 16 nautical miles at 11800 knots, and a speed of 247 knots.The firepower is equipped with twelve 36m45 diameter main guns, 15 14m secondary guns, eight 127m high-angle guns, 25 16mm machine guns, and 3 water reconnaissance machines.

If you simply look at the performance of the battleship, this is undoubtedly an extremely successful battleship, inheriting all the advantages of the battleship's strong guns, even compared with the British Fear-class super battleship, it is not inferior in the slightest.

But Chen Feng is well aware of the changes in naval tactical thinking in the future, the giant ship cannons are declining, and the era of aircraft carrier aviation is coming.The most important thing is that Chen Feng just checked quietly. Take the Fuso-class battleship Fuso built by Japan as an example. Although this kind of battleship is about to disappear, the cost is still astonishingly high. A battleship like this actually needs 3 points , Ten ships are worth 30 points, and Chen Feng always felt that it was not worthwhile to spend so many points to exchange for these things that were about to be swept into the garbage dump of history.

After thinking for a while, Chen Feng said, "What do you think of the navy's tactical thinking?"

Chang Zhiguo and the others were obviously taken aback. They didn't expect that Chen Feng would suddenly talk to them about the navy's tactical thinking. Does Commander Chen still understand this?

But no matter whether Chen Feng understands or not, they have to answer, so the three of them were only slightly stunned, and Tian Haiyang replied: "Nowadays, most of the leading ideas of navies in the world are led by Commodore Mahan, an American naval theorist. Commodore Mahan put forward the doctrine of giant ships and cannons on the basis of summarizing the history of naval warfare for thousands of years before the 19th century, especially in modern times. This theory has been widely accepted until now. Countries such as Britain, Japan, the United States and Germany attach importance to it, so countries have built large battleships one after another."

Chen Feng looked at Tian Haiyang and said: "You are right. The mainstream navies in the world now think that it is indeed the doctrine of giant ships and cannons, but you have not found it. Ma Han proposed it on the basis of summarizing the history of naval warfare before the 19th century. The theory of giant ships and cannons, that is to say, he observed the wars of the 19th century with the concepts before the 20th century."

Chang Zhiguo and the others looked at Chen Feng in surprise, not knowing what he meant. Of course, maybe they had already guessed what Chen Feng wanted to say, but they couldn't believe it. [

Regardless of the surprise of Chang Zhiguo and others, Chen Feng continued: "The experience of the First World War shows that sea power, giant ships, and cannons are not as important as what Ma Han described. It can be said that the theory of giant ships and cannons has fallen behind the times. Sadly, the strategic and military circles of various countries after the First World War did not realize this change, and still regarded the "big ship cannon doctrine" as an important strategic factor, and their strategic thinking remained in the competition to build battleships. and related strategic activities revolved around building battleships."

"Commander, do you mean that the giant ship's cannons are out of date?" Jiang Haitao asked with difficulty the three people's common aspirations.

Chen Feng nodded and said: "I think so, let's put it this way, you are all naval commanders, you have also participated in naval battles, and you know the combat effectiveness of the world's major ship types, then I ask you, you said a battleship , and it is actually the most advanced battleship, how many ships can it withstand? How many torpedoes can it withstand?"

"???"

"Then let me tell you, no matter how many aircraft torpedoes it can withstand, it will always be sunk, because its target is too big and cumbersome. If a large battleship encounters 20 carrier-based aircraft, it will almost There is no possibility of surviving, even if you do not bury yourself in the bottom of the sea, you will still be scarred."

Seeing Chang Zhiguo and others looking at him rather puzzled, Chen Feng said seriously: "Due to the advancement of technology, the war situation has undergone some qualitative changes, and the idea of ​​giant ships and cannons has become an outdated concept. Carrier aircraft will surely become the god of naval warfare, while battleships will be eliminated.”

Although Chen Feng was not a naval commander in his previous life, he still knew the basics of common sense, and he also knew to face up to the Japanese air force, which sang the elegy of the era of giant ships and cannons.

Historically, the situation of Japan's southward invasion of Southeast Asia has become increasingly dangerous. As a deterrent force to curb Japan's southward advance, and in accordance with the requirements of the Atlantic Charter, the British Navy dispatched the battleship "Prince of Wales", the battlecruiser "Repulse", and the newly commissioned "Enemy" The Z-Fleet composed of the USS "aircraft carrier" and four destroyers headed to the Far East, but the "Enemy" hit the rocks in the West Indies and could not join the Z-Fleet.

On December 1941, 12, at the same time as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese landing fleet was preparing to land on the Malay Peninsula.After hearing the news of the Japanese landing, Lieutenant General Phillips, the commander of the Far East Fleet, decided to form the Z Fleet to intercept the Japanese landing force from the "Prince of Wales", the "Counterattack" and 8 destroyers.

On December 12, Fleet Z was discovered by Japanese aircraft. Fleet Z was within the attack range of the Japanese Navy's land-based aviation, and lacked air cover and support.Then on the 9th, the Japanese Navy's 10nd Air Squadron in French Indochina discovered the Z Fleet 22 miles southeast of Kuantan. In the end, both the Prince of Wales and the Counterattack, which lacked air protection, were sunk.Among them, the "Prince of Wales" was hit by 70 torpedoes. The sinking of the "Prince of Wales" at 6:14 ended a short but extraordinary service career.About 20 people were killed in the battle between the two ships, including Vice Admiral Phillips and Captain Rich.This is also a sign of the end of the giant ship cannon doctrine, but the Japanese do not know that they have made history. (To be continued..)

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