Iron Cross

"The answer of the German head of state is very direct, it is a person! It takes 18 years of growth and training for a German youth to become a soldier. The same goes for Japanese youths, and American youths are no exception. The system and national characteristics of the United States determine that they can lose countless materials and We have equipment, but we can’t afford enough people to die. He asked, if at least 10 million people have to die from now on until the end of the war, what about Japan?" Horikichi said slowly, "I replied that it would be easy to handle, Japan. It is decided that 100 million people will be killed. If 10 million people die, they can win. The remaining 90 million people will definitely accept it happily. Even the 10 million people who die will smile... The head of state said, I am confident that the German people will sacrifice 10 million people without losing 10 million people. Rebellion, but Mianxiaojiuquan may not be able to do it. They will definitely curse me to death underground. Guess, are there 10 million Americans who are willing to die for victory?

The German head of state explained: The United States is already very powerful and very rich. Firstly, we do not want to destroy it. Secondly, we do not intend to invade its territory. Thirdly, we do not intend to invade its interests. Fourthly, we are willing to make peace with them at any time. The American people are just for one 10 million to die for the title of victory and the interests of capitalists? I don't think this is possible. Japan and Germany are fighting for national rise and national dignity. If they have to pay a price of 10 million, I think it is acceptable. "

The whole place was silent, and everyone including Yamamoto Isoroku and Fushimi Miyahiro Kyōou were shocked.

"So I insist on fighting the East Coast and New York. I just want to tell the Americans that they must be prepared to die in a war with us. The empire can threaten the American mainland. This is a cruel, life-and-death war. It is A world war is not a war that the Americans can easily win by watching the fire from the other side and sending some weapons, supplies and ammunition to their allies. If they want to win, they must be prepared to die countless people!" Horikichi's expression was serious! , "Major General Shibasaki led 5,000 lone troops to fight for 58 days in the Battle of Tarawa. He did not have an advantage in numbers, weapons, or supplies. He still fought a war of attrition and killed nearly 10,000 U.S. troops. Only 23 of him survived. ! The same is true for the United Fleet. We have to keep fighting the Americans. We can win or lose, but we must consume the opponent. The more we can consume the opponent's life, the more we must try. After two years of fighting, the United States has lost almost 1 million people. Do you think the Americans can hold on until 10 million people die? Or do you think the empire can’t stand it because 10 million people die first?”

After listening to Horikichi's point of view, Inoue Narumi took the lead to stand at attention and bow: "Sir, I have learned a lesson!"

The rest of the people all stood up and bowed their heads in salute: "Sir, I have learned a lesson!"

Fushimi Miyahiro Prince and Yamamoto Isoroku sat motionless, but they were also speechless for a long time. The situation is now clear. Horikichi has convinced everyone. Even die-hard confidants like Fukuru Shige and deputy Koga Mineichi have unknowingly slipped to the position of their opponents. What's more, Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyo himself believed that if he died, he could win for 10 million, and he was willing to pay this price.

Horikichi sighed in his heart: He actually did not fully agree with these words, but in order to convince everyone, he could only maximize the Japanese national character - anyway, there were people everywhere clamoring for a fight to the death. Only Chiaki Matsuda seemed to understand his heart, raised his head and looked at Horikichi again...

There is nothing to argue about now. Discussions about the construction of battleships have completely entered garbage time. The whole process was advanced according to Horikichi's ideas. The final decision was: 7 new Unryu + 1 Taiho class were started in 1944, and 1945 in September. Yunlong, aiming to build 12 ships per year (one ship per month) from 1946, and the construction of the remaining battleships, fleet carriers, and heavy cruisers will be cut off.

Chiaki Matsuda soon proposed the concept of the Axis standard version of Unryu - "If the construction of the standard version of Unryu begins, it is acceptable to reduce the number of ships built per year by 1-2 ships." This aroused great curiosity among everyone.

The so-called Axis standard version of Yunlong refers to a unified standard aircraft carrier jointly designed by Axis technical experts from Japan, Germany and Italy based on the modified Yunlong. The main performance indicators are: standard displacement of 23,000 tons, and the main structure can basically adapt to the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and In Pacific sea conditions, the maximum speed is 34 knots, the maximum range (18 knots) is 9,000 nautical miles, the main aircraft capacity is 68 regular aircraft + 12 spare aircraft (carrier-based aircraft wings are folded), and the average construction period is 18-20 months. A complete set of drawings has basically been formed based on the consultation between Germany and Italy. It is hoped that Japan can complete the review and final modification before March 1944 and determine all the details. Hoffman planned to use unified standard drawings for all Yunlong-class construction from April 1944, and internally renamed it the Axis class.

Matsuda Chiaki explained the specific content: "In this way, the combat performance of a single ship can reach about 75-80% of the Essex class, and the construction cycle is about 2 months slower than the enemy on average, both of which are within the acceptable range. The three countries will uniformly build standard aircraft carriers There are two major advantages. First, it facilitates maintenance and component configuration. Since all components are common, if a German or Italian ship is damaged in the Pacific or a Chinese warship is damaged in Europe, it can be maintained nearby; second, it facilitates centralized use and command, regardless of the pilot. The ships, sailors and commanders all face the same type of ships, which can be quickly interchanged to form a joint cooperation and joint operation among the three countries. In addition, the carrier-based aircraft used by the three countries in the future will also be of the same type and standard. It will further strengthen the tactical use of standard aircraft carriers.

Shipping experts have calculated that once Germany and Italy unite the power of Europe, 20-24 standard aircraft carriers can be built within a year in Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Greece and other countries, plus 8 in Japan. -10 ships, a total of 28-34 ships. If this doesn't kill Americans, we'll all commit suicide. "

Someone immediately retorted: "This is impossible. I don't doubt that Germany, France and Italy are capable of building Yunlong class, and the Netherlands can barely do so. But countries such as Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Greece may be able to build 25,000-ton ships, but it is not possible to build aircraft carriers." Maybe?"

Matsuda Chiaki said with a smile: "At first, I thought the same as you, and I was even less enlightened than you. But after I went to Europe to see the German tank manufacturing process with my own eyes, I understood that equipment production can still be done like this. I went to visit the No. 4 tank at that time The production base heard that Germany can build 1,500 vehicles a month. I was shocked and thought this was absolutely impossible, but in fact there is still a lot of potential to be tapped in this number. The armor of the No. 4 tank is provided by the Belgians, and the wheels and tracks are produced by the Dutch. Yes, the French made the gearboxes and artillery, the Swedes provided the machine guns, and the Germans made their own engines and sighting equipment, which were then assembled in German factories. Now it is said that the Germans will also export engine technology to France and Italy. From now on, only a very small number of parts will be produced, and most parts will only be sent to all allies according to standard drawings, and will be uniformly assembled after quality inspection.

Of course, the current industrial capabilities of various countries cannot keep up with Germany, and component assembly only accounts for a part of the output, but the speed will increase quickly after becoming proficient. It's not that the Germans don't know how to build tanks, but this way they can free up their energy to build Tiger tanks or other more advanced equipment.

The same goes for aircraft carriers. You just said that Spain, Portugal, and Greece can only build a hull. Boilers and power are not enough, let alone the equipment on it. So they can only build a hull. At worst, they can tow it to Italy or When Germany installs power and habitats, the design is the same, the technical standards are the same, and the construction drawings are the same. Why can't they be used universally? If we really build more than 20 ships a year, there is no need to strive for excellence in quality, just passable. It's a consumable item. It might sink in a few days, so just be able to use it. After all, this is a war, and no one expects it to last a lifetime. "

Everyone was stunned. Can shipbuilding be done like this? If you think about it carefully, this is really true. Isn’t the United States using this method to create free wheels and victory wheels? Didn’t Germany also develop a wheel of will? A set of drawings were also given to Japan. Although Japan has always believed that its shipbuilding capabilities are not bad, shipping experts after seeing the Will Wheel drawings quietly said that, let alone the ability, at least in terms of concepts, Japan is 5-10 behind. years, and capabilities such as large-scale segmented construction and electric welding technology are even more lacking. Why is Germany building submarines so quickly and well? As long as you see the routine of segmented construction and final assembly, you will understand it completely.

Therefore, the officers of the Combined Fleet are very grateful to Horikichi for taking them to visit Europe. These things were invisible before. The concepts they brought, the knowledge they learned, and the concepts they absorbed were completely new, even for an American general like Chiaki Matsuda. At that time, it was impossible to go deep into the American arsenal for detailed inspection in the United States, but now due to the Japan-Germany alliance and the performance of the combined fleet, Germany not only generously opened up many technical fields and factories for visits, but also put piles of Technical data and drawings were exported to Japan - of course Hoffman would not show the most advanced parts, but even this was enough to shock the Japanese. In contrast, many Japanese aviation designs are simply half-baked projects. If the European Joint Design Bureau does not take over, it is not known how long it will take for the so-called Comet Kai and Tianshan Kai to enter service.

A group of officers immediately became excited, and someone immediately said: "We can also do this. If the raw materials are enough, the low-tech parts can be tossed by private shipyards, and then dragged to the four major naval factories for final assembly. The quality can be slightly lowered. , but the general level cannot be reduced.”

"The components produced by the Imperial Aviation Industry are often not interchangeable, and the base hole manufacturing is very poor. However, German-made aircraft parts can be used anywhere. It is also a modified Zero engine. The drawings are exactly the same. The German-made ones have more horsepower than the domestic ones. , low failure rate and no oil leakage, it’s really annoying! This is the difference between small workshops and large-scale industrial production. No wonder it’s cheaper to buy many things from Germany than to make them yourself... Don’t look at the fact that other people’s labor is much more expensive than ours, and the cost of production is But it’s even lower, so it’s even cheaper if they make some money first and give it to us!” Onishi Takijiro said with a bitter smile, “In peacetime, this is industrial dumping, but in wartime, we hope that the more dumping, the better. After all, where can we buy ready-made products? What about high-quality munitions?”