Iron Cross

The adjusted design makes the Dunkirk aircraft carrier a standard straight-through beveled deck aircraft carrier. The main flight deck is 210 meters long, slightly less than that of a medium-sized aircraft carrier, but it has an extra beveled deck with a length of 138 meters. Various types of The carrier-based aircraft can take off and land normally, and the overall take-off and landing capabilities are basically the same as those of regular aircraft carriers. However, the carrying capacity, dispatching capabilities and defense level are still the standards of aviation warships.

The new design will adopt the solution of sharing the angled deck and the through deck, and the coexistence of deck mooring and single-layer hangar. It is expected to have a displacement of 30,000 tons, a maximum speed of 30 knots, and can carry 48+6 aircraft (26 hangars + 22 decks rack + 6 racks as spare). The design change will increase the construction period by 2 months and is expected to be put into service in early September, adding an additional cost of 10 million marks.

Ise and Hyuga will also undergo similar modifications, with the overall style remaining the same. It is expected to have a displacement of 35,000 tons, a maximum speed of 25 knots, and can carry 54+8 aircraft (30 in the hangar + 24 on the deck + 8 spares). The overall construction period is 10-11 months and is expected to be put into service in early December. The design of the Jean-Barre, which is larger and slightly less completed, is similar. It is expected to have a displacement of 40,000 tons, a maximum speed of 32 knots, and can carry 60+10 aircraft (36 in the hangar + 24 on the deck + 10 spares) , the overall transformation period is 12 months, and it is expected to be put into use in early April 1944.

Compared with the previous ships, in addition to its tonnage and defense advantages, the Jean-Bart has the longest hull. The length of the straight-through flight deck reaches 245 meters, which exceeds the standard of medium-sized aircraft carriers and is slightly inferior to heavy-duty aircraft carriers. Its comprehensive capabilities have exceeded the glory. class aircraft carrier.

Compared with the U.S. Essex-class fleet aircraft carriers, these four "break-up aircraft carriers" transformed from battleships have very obvious characteristics: first, they adopt a beveled deck design, using a large bevel angle on the port side and a small bevel angle on the starboard side to improve the The aircraft carrier level and take-off and landing capabilities; secondly, it was transformed from a battleship and has only one hangar. The area is generally small and the aircraft carrier capacity of the same tonnage is insufficient; thirdly, the defense capability is stronger than the Essex-class aircraft carrier, and the level The armored core area can withstand 500 kilogram bomb attacks, and its torpedo protection capability is also stronger than that of the Essex class; fourth, its speed is slower than that of the Essex class, and its endurance is low, generally only 6,000-9,000 nautical miles. 15,000 nautical miles on the Essex class. In terms of comprehensive combat capability, it is not as good as the Essex class, but it is much stronger than the escort aircraft carriers built in batches by the United States.

"In the past two years, many skilled workers have been drafted into the army, which has affected the construction of the shipyard. In order to ensure that the ships are completed on time, in addition to supplies, I also hope to draw back some shipyard workers."

"That's absolutely fine. I'll give you a quota of 30,000 people. Bring back all these workers. Please contact General Keitel for coordination. If it's not enough, it's okay to add more. After the Spring Awakening Campaign is over, I will also announce a policy: 40 Wehrmacht soldiers over 20 years old can choose to retire at will - middle and senior officers will probably not leave, but there will be 200,000 to 250,000 low-level officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers, allowing them to return home and play a role in other positions." Hoffman said in a very serious tone. Seriously, "I have been thinking about a problem recently. Before integrating and mobilizing all European forces, the use of our own power has basically reached the limit, and it is impossible to expand without limit. In this Spring Awakening Battle, in order to protect Rommel's materials and supplies , transportation capacity and resource scheduling were not sufficient in a short period of time, and in the end they were forced to divert half of Guderian's African Army supplies, causing him to slow down his attack speed - I don't know how much he should complain to me. "

Speer did not know this news, and he was suddenly stunned. Shao Qing subconsciously asked: "Can the war in Africa end smoothly?"

"In the short term, we can only suppress the Americans. It's still early to end. Fortunately, the Americans can't deliver supplies to Kenya. Overall, we still have some advantages." Speaking of the situation in Africa, Hoffman felt a little upset: those few days Thousands of British and American troops have not yet been put in his eyes, but South Africa is a big problem. The headquarters has estimated that to capture South Africa, not only reliable naval and air forces are needed, but also 300,000 troops. If it is in the Mediterranean, this strength There is no problem with the launch, and South Africa can be bulldozed immediately. The problem is that South Africa is located at the southernmost tip of the African continent, tens of thousands of kilometers away from the core control area of ​​the axis - this distance is farther than the attack from Germany to Indonesia!

"With the long-term confrontation with Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, I'm afraid..." Speer lowered his voice and asked, "I heard that Stalin is trying to sue for peace. What are you going to do?"

"This year we will try to get at least one of Britain or Russia to withdraw from the war, but this will be difficult to do: the British have the support of the Americans and blood transfusions from the Dominion, so they will not surrender in the short term; it will be easy to achieve an armistice with Stalin, as long as I am in the Russian Liberation Army If we let go on the issue, the war will cease next month, but unless the Russians' strength is consumed and weakened to a certain extent, the ceasefire will not bring peace - the Russians have never abided by the treaty they signed, and the ceasefire only allows Stalin to gain It’s just a chance to breathe, the Eastern Front will always face the threat of the Red Army.”

"In this case, we can only hope to conquer India. Occupying India as soon as possible can profoundly damage the confidence of the British - I don't believe that the British can survive better than us."

Speer's words are well-founded - starting from February, the British and American strategic bombings from the United Kingdom gradually decreased, and then almost stopped. After analysis, the Supreme Command believed that the suspension of British and American bombings was due to a combination of factors: Firstly, Britain is facing a fuel crisis, and frequent bombings by thousands of planes consume a lot of fuel; secondly, as the air defense forces on the western front continue to strengthen, the loss level of British and American strategic bombers has always remained at about 14%, which is an unbearable result in the long term; Third, Britain launched continuous bombing of the Azores at the request of the United States, diverting a large amount of air power. More than 35 British bombers made an emergency landing in Portugal alone, and nearly 200 were shot down by the Germans. Both sides were gritting their teeth - -Germany sent its western air force to the Azores in batches, while Britain carried out bombings every day regardless of the cost.

"This is why I agreed to provide 4 marine brigades for Horikichi - Churchill's life was much harder than ours." There was not much worry on Hoffman's face, but he was still confident, "We now have the advantage With absolute initiative, we can first look at the results of the Battle of Spring Awakening, and then look at the situation after the Battle of Gibraltar. I am full of confidence in the future, and the final victory in this war will undoubtedly belong to us. "

Speer nodded in agreement. After all, Germany is now in a good situation. It has social stability, sustained production development, and secure access to various materials and resources. The axis system is spread throughout the core area of ​​the World Island, and even the most annoying strategic air strikes have been reduced. He didn't know what was going on in the United States, but in his eyes, Germany was far more victorious than the Soviet Union or the United Kingdom. Under such circumstances, the Yuan Dynasty dared to reduce the number of troops and mobilize them back to participate in economic construction. If they were not fully confident about the war situation, they would definitely not do so.

"In addition, I have recently been brewing an idea to stop the construction of Atlantic Fortress."

Speer was shocked and asked quickly: "Why? Although the construction process is not progressing quickly, at least we have been working hard to improve it."

"From a military point of view, these fortress defense lines are completely unnecessary and a waste of time and resources. The experience of the Far East tells us that without sea control and air control, it is completely impossible to hold the beachhead and put the enemy up. It would be better to fight. If we lose control of the sea and air, the so-called Atlantic Fortress will be just a pile of reinforced concrete waiting for the Americans to bombard it. This will not cost them much effort - the Fortress of Gibraltar is finally solid on three sides, right? The sea is full of mountains and heavy artillery fortifications. Haven't they been beaten to pieces by us? Moreover, the entire Western European coastline is so long. After Spain joins the axis, the areas we have to defend will be more and larger. Who knows that the Americans will be there? Where to land?"

"Will Marshal Rundstedt express dissatisfaction? He was very unhappy when the allocation of construction funds was a little slow some time ago."

"No! He will agree! He once reported to me that he hoped to concentrate the armored divisions and use a mobile defense posture to concentrate on destroying the enemy troops when they land and conduct deep operations. I have always rejected this because of our initial lack of armor strength. "I originally requested that the construction should be completed in May this year, but the report I received said that the overall progress is only 10-15% complete, and there are only sporadic strongholds, which is not enough to defend against the landing of a large number of troops. , and now Spain is included, when do you think it will be completed in 3 years? ”

Speer lost his voice: Let alone 5 years, it may not be possible to build a complete defense line from Norway to the Iberian Peninsula in another 8 years. This is not because he is unwilling to work hard, but because Germany only has so much strength and must maintain it. With an army of more than 8 million, it is impossible to maintain a strong navy and air force.

"The construction of the Atlantic Fortress has exceeded our capabilities. We must not force it, let alone deceive ourselves. Besides, what is the use of the defense line? The lessons of the Maginot Line are still vivid in our minds. Are they blocking us?"

Speer began to calculate how much supplies and power he could spare if the construction of the Atlantic Fortress stopped.

"Of course, it doesn't mean that no defenses will be built. At least the section facing the English Channel - that is, from Brest, France to Amsterdam, the Netherlands - should still be built. The rest of the personnel, materials and funds can be invested in air defense fortifications and airports on the western front. , roads, etc., or you can invest the labor force in naval shipbuilding. As for Marshal Rundstedt, I will communicate with him. The best explanation is to give him a few more armored divisions and infantry divisions with tank destroyers. It would be even better if we could secure enough aircraft.”

"As you wish, Führer."