Iron Cross

Hoffman certainly would not do good things for no reason, his motivation was entirely for the benefit.

The existence of the Azores base and the complete centralization of the Mediterranean control, coupled with the fact that the surface ship force is far more powerful than in history, the loss rate of German submarines has been greatly reduced, and the areas that need to be used have also been reduced - there is no need to send submarines to the Mediterranean now, and there is almost no need to send submarines to the Indian Ocean, because British and American merchant ships have disappeared. There are only two key areas for breaking trade in the world, except for the Anglo-Canada route in the North Atlantic. One is the South Atlantic waters of South America, the Caribbean, and South Africa; the other is the South Pacific waters from the west coast of the United States to Australia and New Zealand.

The early Type VII submarines had a relatively short range, which was acceptable for use on the Anglo-Canada route in the North Atlantic, but not very practical in the South Atlantic. Therefore, Dönitz appropriately controlled the size of the submarine force according to the actual situation. For every additional Type XXI submarine, two Type VII submarines were prepared to be retired. Of course, the Type VII submarines based in Western Europe cannot undertake the task of breaking trade in the South Atlantic and South Pacific, but it does not mean that they cannot be launched from other places, so it is necessary to find more suitable places for breaking trade for Type VII and Type IX submarines.

In addition to this reason, human resources are also what the German Navy needs to focus on now. Because Hoffman promoted the vigorous expansion of the navy, the demand for sailors in the surface forces increased rapidly, and the total number of navy personnel continued to rise, with a momentum far stronger than that of the army. For example, the Skyhawk aircraft carrier that set out this time could not find a suitable candidate to serve as the captain. After Ozawa's proposal, Marshal and others agreed all the way, and the Japanese advisory group member, the former captain of the Akagi, Aoki Yasujiro, served as the captain with the rank of German Navy Rear Admiral. Germany sent three deputy captains to learn and assist in command.

Under such circumstances, the number of submarine forces naturally cannot be increased indefinitely. As the first deputy commander of the navy, Dönitz cannot only focus on submarines, he must have an overall comprehensive balance. At present, Germany has completely stopped the production of Type VII and Type IX submarines, except for the last batch still being produced in the shipyard, and has started the construction of Type XXI submarines with all its strength. In addition, the giant Type XXX (Type 30) submarines improved according to the I-400 drawings are also being designed in full swing, and are ready to start construction in March 1944.

Compared with the 6,500-ton I-400, the XXX submarine has a displacement of up to 9,600 tons. It can reach any place in the world from Germany and return safely. Of course, the XXX submarine is not designed to disrupt trade, nor is it designed to carry special seaplanes for special dive bombing like Japan - those levels of use are too low. This submarine has only one goal, carrying a modified super V2 rocket - with a load of 5 tons and a range of 800 kilometers.

Dr. Braun has assured Hoffman that such a super V2 rocket can be manufactured by the end of 1945 at the latest, and there is still a big gap from the goal - the current maximum load of the V2 rocket is 2.5 tons and the maximum range is 400 kilometers.

In addition to the version launched from submarines (first develop floating launch, then develop submarine launch), the super V2 rocket has two other mobile carrier platforms - one is a modified armored train, and the other is a super-heavy truck that is currently under intensive development. As for what these things are used for, Braun is not very clear, but Speer is very clear - they will be used to carry Germany's super bombs.

In Hoffman's opinion, Germany's nuclear force deployment in the next 20 years will be a six-in-one strike platform: heavy bombers, ground fixed launch silos, railway mobility, road mobility, surface ship mobility, and submarine mobility. So after the super bomb and super rocket, there is a plan for super submarines - initially it is planned to build 4.

There are two motivations for providing submarines to Japan: first, Germany has sent a group of submarine officers to Japan for training, which has also achieved practical results, but Japan's own submarines are limited and the use logic is wrong, so more German submarines must be provided; second, under the current circumstances, using submarines to suppress, blockade, and counter the US actions in Australia and New Zealand will be effective. Although it is impossible to block Australia and New Zealand using submarines alone, every ton of US supplies sent to the sea will force the US counterattack in the direction of Australia and New Zealand to be delayed by one point - this is of great benefit to the overall war situation.

In addition to Japan, as a reward for the Italians to provide battleships to participate in the South American war, Hoffman also gave the Italian Navy 12 Type VII submarines, and then Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Iran, Iraq and even Egypt and other partners also half-sold and half-sold them a batch. After conquering the Falkland Islands and successfully instigating Argentina, he also agreed to provide a batch to the Peron authorities - given Argentina's geographical location, once there are submarines, the picture is too beautiful to imagine.

"The Combined Fleet still has a solution. This way, at least 500-600 million yen can be saved, and the construction requirements and quantity mentioned by the Minister of the Navy just now can be guaranteed." Vice Admiral Onishi Takijiro of the Naval Aviation Headquarters immediately stood up to join in.

"It's indeed good. Your Highness's construction plan just mentioned can also be passed." As soon as he finished speaking, Fukudome Shigeru, the Chief of the Operations Department of the Military General Staff, stood up and said tit-for-tat.

Then the meeting immediately debated what model and quantity to purchase, and asked when these submarines would arrive. Only Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi asked: "The Germans did this because they need us, right?"

"Your Highness, please understand that the German side has made two demands: First, the Combined Fleet will launch a second westward expedition this winter and next spring - the specific conditions will be discussed separately; second, we hope that we can intercept the American material supply ships pretending to be the Soviet Union as soon as possible and cut off the Soviet Union's North Pacific supply route."

People immediately started discussing again. Some said that the price of the second westward expedition should be higher, while others said it would be better to postpone it, at least to completely control India first. Some said that there should be no westward expedition, but to take the opportunity to march south, recover the islands in the South Pacific and seize Australia and New Zealand. Some people were eager to cut off the Soviet supply line, thinking it was a good time to take advantage of the situation.

Seeing that the meeting was really going off topic, Inoue Narumi knocked on the table to stop everyone from talking nonsense: "We will talk about this in the next meeting. Let's continue to discuss the shipbuilding plan first. Please report the results that have been agreed upon to Commander Hori Teikichi."

The staff officer in charge of recording read again: "Fifth, accelerate the development of new weapons. Master the aviation engine technologies obtained from Germany this time, including Zero War Kai, Tianshan Kai, Comet Kai, etc., and learn and understand new radars, hydrophones (sonar), acoustic torpedoes, new aircraft machine guns, anti-aircraft guns and ammunition, communication radio stations, aircraft catapults and other facilities as soon as possible. Before successfully localizing, temporarily import physical objects from Germany for transformation and upgrading..."

Strictly speaking, the fifth item is not shipbuilding, but only necessary equipment in ship construction, but since it was involved in the discussion, it was discussed and recorded together.

"The above situation has been reported. Please check the meeting minutes, sir."

"The results were achieved very quickly... I was not here just now. I don't know what the differences in your discussion are. Can you tell me the opinions in full?" After reading the meeting minutes, Hori Teikichi said with a smile, "Ohnishi-kun, how about you speak first?"

Hearing this, Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi couldn't help but frowned and felt very uncomfortable. This discomfort started when Hori Teikichi said that submarines would be given and sold. On the surface, the words just now confirmed Germany's support for the Japanese Navy, but in the ears of those who were interested, it was almost equivalent to the self-praise of the Combined Fleet. Why did the Germans give and sell submarines for no reason? It was definitely not because the Chief of the General Staff had a good leadership or the Minister of Foreign Affairs had a good mediation. The only explanation was the combat exploits of the Combined Fleet, which greatly strengthened Hori Teikichi's right to speak.

Hori Teikichi now said that the two factions should state their positions. Not only did he immediately separate the status of the Combined Fleet, but he also put himself in the position of arbitrator. How could Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi swallow this? But now it is different from the past. As a Grand Admiral of the Navy, Hori Teikichi has a superior status, so no one has any objection to his words. Although Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi is also a Grand Admiral of the Navy, he knows his own business. In the minds of the navy, he is a Grand Admiral of the Navy completely because of his royal family. If we really talk about his achievements, let alone compared with Hori Teikichi, even Yamamoto is better than him.

"The opinion of the Minister of the Navy is: no more battleships will be built in the Marushin Plan. Starting from next year, it is required to build 4 new Unryū-class and 2 new Taiho-class aircraft carriers every year. The construction period of Unryū-class aircraft carriers shall not exceed 22 months, and the construction period of Taiho-class aircraft carriers shall not exceed 36 months. In addition to the 8 Unryū-class aircraft carriers that have been started (4 of them are expected to be put into service in 1944), we will strive to complete the construction of about 40 new aircraft carriers in 5 years, that is, before the end of 1948. Considering the large number of battleship losses, if there is still room in the budget, we can consider building the fourth ship of the Yamato class. Now that there is room in the budget, the fourth ship can be built." As the head of the Aviation Headquarters, Onishi Takijiro is of course the pioneer of the aviation faction, but he still gave face to the fleet faction - agreeing to build the fourth ship of the Yamato class.

"Your Majesty's opinion is that in the Marushin plan, we will start construction of two more modified Yamatos and two super-A cruisers. The aircraft carrier will build four modified Unryū every year. If there is budget space, we will consider building 2-3 modified Taiho. The modified Yamato has a displacement of 75,000 tons, equipped with 510mm caliber artillery, and a completion time of 48 months; the super-A cruiser has a displacement of 30,000 tons, equipped with artillery, and a completion time of 40 months. The overall construction period is also considered to be 5 years, and we will strive to complete it in full." Fukudome Shigeru explained, "Currently, there are 8 Unryū. The class is under construction, and about 20 ships will be added in 5 years, which has exceeded the original goal of 13 ships in the fifth reform plan. The reason for adding capital ships is that the battleships have been lost recently. The Kongo class lost 2 ships, the Fuso class lost 2 ships, the Ise class sold 2 ships to Germany, and the Nagato class lost 1 ship. In one year, 7 battleships were lost, and only 1 Shinano was added to supplement. I am afraid that they will be stretched in the future. After all, battleships have played an important role in the recent battles, and the Yamato class has formed an important psychological deterrent to the enemy. "