Bismarck

"Due to factors such as fuel consumption, flight time, and pilot fatigue, the combat effectiveness of aircraft decreases sharply as the combat radius increases. However, this problem has been well compensated by the combination with aircraft carriers... Even if the enemy's shore-based long-range aircraft group theoretically has a sufficient combat radius, the distance is too far, and the disadvantages of reaction time, dispatch rate, and lack of long-range escort fighters make them unable to effectively fight against aircraft carriers!..."

"As for the existing problems, the main reason is that the deck area of ​​the aircraft carrier is limited, and the dispatching efficiency is still low. Although the full-deck attack has strong attack power, the specific preparation work is too complicated, and the preparation time and the interval between deployment are too long. During this interval, the aircraft carrier has no combat effectiveness. ... This naval battle was successful because the enemy was far away from their base network and had to follow the whereabouts of our fleet. Their movements were more predictable, and the surprise attack of our fleet caught them off guard... But we cannot guarantee that we will have such a good opportunity every time..."

"We don't have enough aircraft carriers. We only have one aircraft carrier... The loss rate in air raids is about 30% to 40%, and the sustained combat capability of a single aircraft carrier is also quite problematic... If two or more aircraft carriers attack in coordination, and even light aircraft carriers specializing in reconnaissance and air defense cover can be added, the problem of insufficient flexibility in aircraft carrier deck scheduling and weak sustained combat capability can be solved to a large extent..."

Lütjens was still reporting meticulously. However, as the report progressed, the expressions of Goering and Raeder well explained what it meant to say that the sun was shining in the east and the rain was falling in the west...

Perhaps in Reger's eyes, Lütjens has already established his reputation as a traitor, and his actions simply better illustrate this point.

And Lütjens's report continues...

"Another problem is that our aircraft carrier task force lacks supply ships that can accompany aircraft carriers for long-term activities, which means that the use of aircraft carriers must strictly control the consumption of aviation gasoline, bombs and spare parts. ... In fact, the victory of this Mid-Atlantic naval battle can be said to be very lucky. Because the Zeppelin's supplies at that time were actually exhausted, that assault can be said to have used up the last reserve and gambled everything... In fact, during the ten days of returning from the Mid-Atlantic, the Zeppelin had to strictly limit even the most basic aerial reconnaissance and fighter patrol alerts - if the Glorious had not been damaged by the submarine of the Italian ally at that time, I am afraid that it would have had a hard battle to return home..."

Although Goering and Raeder had different expressions, they couldn't help but think of Europa and Seydlitz. A 50,000-ton ship and a 10,000-ton ship, wouldn't they complement each other?

But... Zeppelin's sister ship Peter Strasser was dismantled, so it might be difficult to rebuild it now.

While Lütjens was reading the end of the report, he also quietly glanced at Redl's expression and sighed in his heart...

The Atlantic Fleet was a main fleet with great military achievements, but it was the place of exile for him and his shipgirls. Although GR186 belonged to the Air Force, it was not a problem to get planes and pilots, after all, Zeppelin still had a good impression in front of Goering, but he probably couldn't think of getting reinforcements for the battleships...

But I still have to finish what I have to say...

After finally finishing the report on the course of the naval battle and the lessons learned, the second topic was Yamamoto's request to consult Lütjens by name for advice on aircraft carrier tactics. However, this matter could be a big deal or a small one. Considering the real threat of the United States intervening in the Battle of the Atlantic, the mustache actually hoped that the Japanese navy would be stronger and pose a greater threat to the United States.

Besides, Germany and Japan are still allies, although in fact they are an Axis Alliance with ulterior motives, but this kind of thing is not impossible to discuss.

So soon, Lütjens received instructions agreed upon by the little mustache, Raeder and Goering: Japan's request for "tactical guidance" (literally), as long as it did not involve German secrets, would be met - of course, it would be best if they could learn something from Japan.

After all, at that time, Japan was one of the top three naval powers in the world... and the sudden explosion of the German navy has only happened in the past few years. Except for Goering, everyone knows what happened.

The next topic was the modification plan for the aircraft carriers Europa and Seydlitz. This plan had nothing to do with Lütjens, so the mustache man asked Lütjens to step down.

But whether it was the Persian cat upstairs or Lütjens in the lounge, even without listening carefully, one could hear the "noise" in the conference room - the fight between Raeder and Goering over aircraft carriers was really heated, and sparks were already flying...

Especially Bismarck, she felt that the two marshals did not look like marshals at all. Perhaps to put it in a more vivid way, they were like the aunties who quarreled and cursed in the vegetable market over a few dollars.

"What's wrong with you?" Eva asked puzzledly, looking at Bismarck who was secretly trying not to laugh.

"Well, nothing, I was just watching a good show, it was really interesting."

-----

After having lunch at the mustache man's residence, Goering, who had negotiated with Raeder for the authority to organize two carrier-based aircraft units, returned home satisfied, and Lütjens also went home with the Persian cat.

However, Lütjens and the Persian cat did not know how difficult their next task would be...

-----

"Prince, there are some things I want to report to you."

Raeder did not leave the residence of the little mustache. After Goering and Lütjens left, he began to come to the little mustache for "private report".

After all, he has been a veteran politician in military uniform for many years, so he still has some ability to control his emotions. Although he is actually very resentful in his heart, it does not show on the outside at all, and there is no trace of anger in his words. He seems to be doing his duty for the country and the people.

"The Military Intelligence Agency just sent a piece of intelligence to the Navy Department at noon. I just received it, too. It said that the United States is likely to sell or lease one or two aircraft carriers to Britain!"

The mustache guy’s hand holding the water cup suddenly froze!

What does this mean?

The powerful lighthouse on the opposite side will also join this war that should have been in Europe. This is very bad news for Germany. If it is confirmed, Germany's scope of activities will be greatly compressed. It has just repelled the British fleet in the Atlantic, and if another American fleet comes, it will be too troublesome.

After a long while, the man with a mustache finally asked:

“…Does the Navy have any assessment of the United States’ participation in the war?”

"Yes, but..." Raeder smiled bitterly with an extremely sincere expression, and slowly said: "Although the US Navy currently does not have high-speed battleships, their fastest-produced North Carolina-class battleships equipped with 406mm guns will not be able to be put into service until next year at the earliest. However, they have a total of six aircraft carriers. This is a big problem..."

Well, even an old-fashioned and bureaucratic person like Raeder has now had to admit that aircraft carriers "are at least fully qualified to be compared with battleships"... Otherwise, he would not have argued with Goering over Europa and Seydlitz in the morning.

It's mainly about the issue of ownership.

"No matter how 'special' the Zeppelin is, it only has one ship. And according to Lütjens's report, in the past few operations, large-scale air strikes on the enemy's main fleet, even if the results are relatively ideal, the loss rate will be around 30 to 40 percent..." The mustache man couldn't help but start to assess the situation, but the more he assessed, the more he found that there was no solution... "By the way, didn't you say last time that the United States passed a very large shipbuilding plan this year?"

"Yes, my Führer, the plan includes a Yorktown-class aircraft carrier and four South Dakota-class battleships also equipped with 406mm main guns. By 1942, they will launch a large-scale construction plan for at least ten new aircraft carriers and at least six 45000-ton battleships equipped with at least 406 main guns..." Speaking of this, Raeder also had a wry smile on his face: "The navy of that country has made an assessment. Their steel production capacity this year is probably no less than 6000 million tons, their oil production capacity is no less than 18 million tons, and their shipbuilding industry has at least 250 large docks over meters long. In addition, their land area is equal to the area of ​​the entire Europe. Their potential is unfathomable..."

"Yeah..." The mustache man frowned, and his frown showed how anxious he was. There was already a polar bear with ulterior motives in the east, and the national strength of the United States was only above that of the Soviet Union...

Not to mention, there is also Britain, which is still jumping up and down here...

Now it seems that the war is far from being so easy to end. It is probably just as he said in his early years, "Either we step on their corpses to get through, or they step on our corpses to get through"...

"What a trouble..." The mustache man was depressed. After thinking for a while, he turned around and looked at Redel and asked, "What do you think?"

"There is a hypothesis, because now it seems that the US military construction schedule may not be able to form combat effectiveness until 42 or even 43 years. Although they have been taking sides, it is unlikely that they will take the initiative to declare war on my country before this time."

"So, if we can defeat Britain by the end of 42 and force them to stop talking to us, then we still have a chance..."

While Redel spoke humbly about these strategic ideas, a cold light emanated from the depths of his eyes...

"...Sounds good, tell me about your specific plan?" The mustache listened to Raeder's ideas and nodded slightly - although the mustache was thinking: If the Soviet Union can be forced to surrender before the beginning of 43...

However, if the United Kingdom can be dealt with, it would be a great victory. At least without the British stepping stone, it would be more difficult for the United States to directly interfere in the European continent... The mustache man still understands this principle.

And Redel below also began to strike while the iron was hot and cater to his needs...

"Our submarine offensive is very strong now. General Dönitz has reported to me that with the limits of British and American shipbuilding capacity, as long as we can sink more than 70 tons of their tonnage every month, their shipping industry will gradually collapse!"

"However, the enemy that submarines fear most is the surface destroyer fleet. And the biggest enemy of destroyers is large fleets!..." At this point, Raeder's expression and tone began to become slightly more exaggerated: "The British fleet has just been defeated, and the aircraft carriers leased from the United States cannot form combat effectiveness in the short term... So we need to send the Bismarck to the Atlantic as soon as possible, and cooperate with the submarine force to completely cut off Britain's shipping!!"

"The feasibility of this plan has been demonstrated, and a rough plan has been made. The code name of this plan is..." Raeder said the name of the plan in a firm tone, almost word by word:

"Lain! Act! Practice!"

ps: I was busy with my sister’s wedding yesterday. I probably wouldn’t be able to update without the big sister... Thank you.

My two elder sisters are getting married. I am going to attend the wedding banquet today...

Chapter 330: Zeppelin teaches secrets

Shortly after the meeting ended, Zeppelin, who was far away in Brest, also set off.

That afternoon, Zeppelin, along with the two captains, Bal and Tinolt, rushed back from the French airport on a military flight.

After reporting to Goering and receiving the task of test-flying the new fighter, the few of them had a good meal that evening at a relatively upscale restaurant at the invitation of Lütjens.

Bismarck was assigned to sit next to Tinor. Tinor seemed to be amazed when he saw Bismarck for the first time. He seemed to want to come over and talk to him? However, knowing Bismarck's identity and his colleague's open mouth, Barr quickly covered his mouth with a backstab-like gesture before he could speak...

"You idiot, I'm Instructor Zeppelin's best friend and the commander's secretary, do you still want to stay in this business..."

Although it was whispered in the ear, Bismarck and Zeppelin heard it...

The two ship girls quietly communicated on the WIFI. Meanwhile, Bal, who secretly glanced at his instructor's expression, happened to see the murderous look flashing across Zeppelin's eyes...

Oh, how scary.

"Brother, you are finished, I can't help you..." Bal, who was already scared by the devil instructor, couldn't help but silently draw a cross for his colleague in his heart... At the same time, he felt that he should sit farther away from this brother...

-

The next day, Barr and Tinolt went to the German Air Force test flight field with relevant documents proving their identities, while Zeppelin stayed behind to accompany Lütjens to attend the exchange meeting with Japan.

The original plan was for Yamamoto to lead the delegation to visit Taranto and then go directly to Brest, but the two important people in Brest were missing and had all returned to Berlin, so Yamamoto simply came back to Berlin to meet them.

Then, the two sides contacted each other and set a meeting time.

In the meeting room of the Admiralty, Lütjens, Bismarck, and Zeppelin were holding a lively, warm and friendly exchange meeting on aircraft carrier use experience with a visiting delegation of the Imperial Japanese Navy who had come all the way from Japan in the Far East, namely Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, and several staff officers and aides following behind.

Lively, enthusiastic and friendly, well, only Nanyun felt a little depressed...

Nagumo was not a member of the Yamamoto faction, but belonged to the battleship faction of Admiral Nagano Osami, the chief of the Navy, who was one of the three great naval commanders like Yamamoto. He also had no experience in aviation. Before taking up his current position as president of the Naval University, his major was in the field of mine warfare.

But unlike in history, he is now well aware that aircraft carriers have become main forces "comparable to battleships."

It’s just… After all, I’m fifty years old now, and I don’t seem to have the confidence to venture into such a new field…

Although the navy's internal evaluation of him is "brave and decisive", that is after all a peacetime evaluation. An "evaluation" that has not been tested in actual combat is nothing when it comes to life and death decisions. But it can be said that knowing others is wise, and knowing oneself is wise? Although Nan Yun is not a wise general, he still knows what kind of material he is...

He glanced at Lütjens, who was fifty years old like him, but he was able to command Germany's only aircraft carrier and achieve great military exploits...

"These fleets are the fate of the country...wouldn't he be nervous or afraid?"

Even though it was early December and snow was still falling outside, Chuichi Nagumo's palms were already sweaty as he held the pen...

What was written in the notebook were all terms that I didn’t even understand. As a tradition of the Japanese Navy, love of study and good grades were a must, and Etajima’s school motto was also about these things. But…

I still feel uncertain...

Yamamoto saw Nanyun sweating profusely and couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Nanyun, what's wrong with you?"

"No...nothing..."

Yamamoto smiled and said nothing. After Lütjens on the other side finished introducing the process of the two naval battles, Yamamoto began to ask questions:

"General Lütjens, what do you think are the most important aspects of commanding an aircraft carrier battle group?"

However, while asking the question, he also gave Nanyun a slight kick under the table. Nanyun was not stupid, and knew that the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet was reminding him, so he quickly grabbed a pen and started to take notes.

Bismarck and Zeppelin both saw this scene. Although they appeared to be sitting upright, they actually started laughing over the WIFI.

"The most important aspect... should be reconnaissance, right?" Lütjens was a little confused, but he still talked about his combat experience. "Aircraft carriers have strong combat mobility, but aircraft are easily lost, and the flight deck preparation cycle is also very long, so the side that seizes the initiative at the beginning will have a great advantage - but in this case, reconnaissance intelligence must be done well first. If there is an enemy fleet in the combat area and it is not discovered by you, it will be a disadvantage."

Perhaps thinking of the difficulty of the Battle of Newcastle, Lütjens was a little depressed. Not to mention Bismarck and Zeppelin who were sitting next to him, they still remembered Flensburg's death in the battle and the way Flensburg's wife almost cried at the dock...

I was originally laughing in my own space and talking about how great the Japanese were, but now I can't laugh anymore. Bismarck was still okay, but Zeppelin was the one who was most deeply touched, after all, they were both pilots.

Yamamoto seemed to notice that the atmosphere in Germany was a little sad, and looked at Lütjens with an inquiring look. However, the captain quickly controlled his emotions and continued to talk about his battlefield experience...

"Sorry, I just remembered something. Let's continue... Besides reconnaissance, the most important thing is to ensure survivability... First of all, when attacked by the enemy, only if the air defense is well done can we defend against the enemy's attack."

"In addition to air defense, there is damage control. Only surviving aircraft carriers can guarantee the launch of the next wave of attacks in the next battle, without losing combat effectiveness or even sinking directly. The British are also like this. Their air defense is very strict, and armored aircraft carriers can also guarantee survivability. The aircraft carrier HMS Formidable in the Mid-Atlantic Battle was hit by five 500 kg armor-piercing shells, but still escaped..."

"Can you give us a detailed introduction?" Yamamoto and Nanyun both became interested.

Chapter 331: German-Japanese Meeting

"Yes, first of all, we have Freya radar, which has a detection range of up to 150 kilometers. And this radar is equipped with an identification friend or foe system. With it, we can distinguish the enemy and friendly forces from a long distance, and then command to intercept... Secondly, damage control technology can control damage and repair work... Third is anti-aircraft firepower. In actual combat, the enemy either dives at an altitude of 3000-4000 meters, or drops torpedoes 1000-2000 meters above the water... So the role of 20mm anti-aircraft guns is very limited, and our 4000mm machine guns with a range of 5000 to 37 meters play a big role..."

"In other words, we must have more than four or five thousand medium-range anti-aircraft firepower to be the main air defense support point?" Yamamoto asked with great interest.

"You can say that." Lütjens nodded - as for the VT fuse, he would not tell anyone about it easily.

"So what do you know about the performance of British and American radars?" This time it was Nanyun who asked the question. Although Japan had some radio research at that time, Nanyun still did not understand the performance of radar.

"It's powerful, but also very troublesome." Lütjens also sighed. "I don't know about American radars, but the performance of British radars may be slightly better than ours."

"According to the intelligence currently available from British radars, the high-altitude search distance for large groups of aircraft is no less than 80 to 90 nautical miles, and the mid-altitude search distance of 3000 meters is no less than 50 nautical miles. For sea radars, the search range for large warships is no less than nautical miles, and for destroyers it is more than nautical miles... Moreover, with the help of radars, they can launch night-time artillery and night-time torpedo attacks. If they don't have the same radar, they will easily fall into a unilateral disadvantage..."

Although Lütjens had never been in this situation because of the existence of these ship girls under his command, the British on the other side... had been bullied like this more than once or twice. So Lütjens was still very clear.

Yamamoto Pan Changjiang and Nanyun Li Yunlong on the opposite side were completely stunned.

Especially for Nanyun, the night battle search distance of more than ten nautical miles is a completely new worldview for a destroyer expert like him who is used to eating taurine...

"More than ten nautical miles?!"

"Yes, there have been several cases where we relied on radar to unilaterally defeat their destroyers and cruisers. For example, the battle of the CE-15 convoy and the Battle of Dunkirk." Lütjens said while looking at Bismarck next to him.

It’s not a radar at all, but… it’s almost the same, right?

Bismarck, on the other hand, was quietly looking at Nan Yun's face - he saw that his face began to turn blue and white.

Tell a joke, the XX of this book

Bismarck knew very well why Nan Yun had such an expression. His shocked expression was actually easy to guess. After all, in later history books, Japan's radar had always been a laughing stock, and they even had to rely on searchlights, which would expose themselves before illuminating the enemy, to fight night battles.

This is where we should mention a certain fool in heaven, but she is still alive at this time.

Except for the early days of the Pacific War when the US radar was not very proficient in operation, the night battles in the middle and late stages were basically unilaterally beaten by the US radar. Although the Type 93 oxygen torpedo had the best theoretical performance in World War II, it was blind. What was the use of the powerful torpedo?

Although it is known that there will be a war between Japan and the United States, if Japan knew these things in advance, it might cause more serious losses to the US military. The more painful the losses of the Americans, the greater the possibility of violent troops, the greater the force of the counterattack, the more miserable Japan will be, and Germany may be able to buy more time?

However, after all, the people in front of her were Japanese, so she still felt a little unhappy.

After all, the first broadcast I heard after traveling through time seemed to be about the Japanese invasion of China and the Nanjing Massacre...

Bismarck snorted inwardly with a hint of displeasure.

"Bismarck, what's wrong?" Hearing Bismarck's unhappy snort, Zeppelin couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"Nothing, I just don't like these barbarians. Don't be fooled by their well-dressed appearance, they are just beasts in human form... they are greedy, invade others everywhere, and are very barbaric and brutal..." Bismarck snorted slightly, but Zeppelin was not a time traveler like himself, so he did not have the same hatred for Japan. The affairs of other countries had nothing to do with Zeppelin. In addition, it was difficult to say what some of Germany's practices were, so he could only evade a few words...