The Rise of the Third Reich
Chapter 566: Springboard to America (Part 1)
The Rotterdam Shipyard in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, is one of the four shipyards in the Netherlands capable of building large surface ships of more than 30,000 tons. The small, peace-loving Netherlands actually has four shipyards that can build battleships! Europe's industrial strength in the 1940s really cannot be underestimated.
When Reichsmarschall Hersmann, the Minister of Defense of the German Empire, arrived at this large shipyard on April 1, 1942, the shipyard was a busy scene. The tall chimneys were filled with black smoke, and soot and dust were everywhere. There are more than a dozen large and small slipways lined up in a row, all of which are busy with military and civilian ships under construction. The most eye-catching one is undoubtedly the hull of a huge 30,000-ton battleship.
"Marshal of the Empire, the hull of this Lake Essay-class battlecruiser is very well built, better than our own!"
Amidst the clanging sound of knocking, Admiral Canaris, the director of the German Naval Armament Bureau, who arrived a few days in advance (the original spy chief, was sent to the navy by Hessmann at the end of 1941 to take charge of the armament manufacturing business) ), with his thumbs up, introduced to Hessmann the hull of the battlecruiser that will be owned by the German Navy.
Admiral Canaris said: "With a standard displacement of 28,500 tons, the main armor belt and the front armor of the turret are 250mm, the front and side armor of the command tower are 300mm, and there is a double armor deck with 100mm and 30mm respectively, which is enough protection. The firepower of any heavy cruiser. The nine 54.5-caliber 280mm main guns are powerful enough to sink three heavy cruisers at once, and its anti-aircraft firepower is also powerful enough, with 12 128mm high-level guns. It has dual-purpose guns, 28 40mm Bofors guns, and 32 13mm machine guns. Even if it is attacked by twenty or thirty aircraft at sea, it can still survive. But the most satisfying thing is its power system, which has 180,000 horsepower. Super horsepower, greater than our Bismarck-class and Hindenburg-class, and the power system used by the H41 is exactly the same, allowing this battlecruiser to run up to 34 knots, almost as fast as a destroyer, I guarantee it, in the world! No other country’s battleships and battlecruisers can catch up with it.”
The H41 type was improved on the basis of the "Hindenburg" class (H39 type). The four H-class battleships that were added after the end of the Western Front Campaign were all H41 type battleships. If the H39 battleship is the transition from a "destroyer ship" to a "decisive battleship", then the H41 type is a true decisive battleship.
When Germany began to design the H41 based on the H39, Germany had already won the victory on the Western Front. Moreover, Germany's shore-based aviation also demonstrated strong anti-ship capabilities, changing the strength comparison between the British and German navies. Moreover, the effect of using shore-based Ju88, He-115 (later changed to S.M.79) and Fokker Zero to cooperate with submarines to break engagements is much better than using surface ships.
Therefore, German naval engineers finally gave up the idea of "breaking diplomatic relations" and positioned the H41 as a decisive battleship.
At the same time, starting from helping the Netherlands design the Lake Essay class, German hull engineers also gave up the outdated "dome armor protection" concept and concentrated the armor tonnage on the sides, deck, turret, command tower, and underwater mine protection area. and other key parts.
In addition, the H41's main gun has been upgraded on the basis of the H39, with the caliber increased from 406mm to 420mm (the number is still 8). As a result, it truly has the strength to compete with the "Iowa" and "Montana" class American super battleships under construction.
However, the Lake Essay-class battlecruiser, which contributed many technologies (new power system and new armor protection design ideas) to the H41 battleship, will never be built. Because Germany no longer needs a warship to break diplomatic ties - the issue of breaking diplomatic ties is now a "small goal" for the United States to consider.
"Three Lake Essay class ships can be converted into aircraft carriers," Hersman said to Admiral Werner Fox after visiting the hull of the Lake Essay class ships that were ready to be launched. How long will it take to complete the fully enclosed hangars of 30 Fw-190Ts and 30 Fokker 100s?
The medium and low-altitude model of the Fw-190T (Fw-190T-1) developed by the Fokker Company on the basis of the Fw-190 has now begun mass production and will soon replace the existing Fokker Zero. There is also a high-altitude model equipped with a turbocharger, called Fw-190T-2, which was finalized in early April and will be put into production soon.
According to the German naval aviation plan, the carrier-based aircraft on the German naval aircraft carrier will be composed of high-altitude fighters, low-altitude fighters and dive bombers. Among them, high-altitude fighter jets will be used to drive away enemy high-altitude bombers - while the Germans are developing the Hs293 wire-controlled glide bomb, they can certainly imagine that the enemy will use the same method to attack German surface ships.
After all, the wire-controlled gliding bomb is not a high-tech thing. With the capabilities of the United Kingdom and the United States in the electronic field, they should be able to copy it quickly.
However, until the United States successfully imitates the Hs293 wire-controlled glide bomb and equips its troops, Germany can still dominate the Atlantic Ocean with its small P.108S fleet.
For Germany, the next few months will be a period of precious strategic opportunities. Once this period of strategic opportunities passes, a naval war with the United States will be inevitable.
According to intelligence, the construction of the "Essex" class aircraft carrier in the United States is progressing very quickly. The first ship, the USS Essex, will be completed and put into service before the end of 1942, and 7-8 more will be put into service in 1943. It is truly worthy of its name. Dumpling” ship.
Moreover, in addition to the "Essex" class, there is also an 11,000-ton "Independence" class light fleet aircraft carrier that will soon be launched. It is said that the U.S. Navy Department placed an order for 20 ships in one go in early 1942, and the first ship will be completed within 1942, which is really fast.
"Sixteen months at most," Admiral Canaris assured Hersman, "it will be completed before the autumnal equinox in 1943."
"I'll give you 12 months at most." Hersman patted Admiral Canaris on the shoulder and said with certainty, "It must be completed before the end of April 1943, because we will be in great need of aircraft carriers by then."
After negotiating with Admiral Canaris about accelerating the modification of the aircraft carrier, Hessmann and the director of the German Naval Armament Bureau took a Maybach car to The Hague, 20 kilometers away. Although The Hague is not the capital of the Netherlands, it has always been the political center of the Netherlands. Many government agencies, embassies and international organizations are located in The Hague. Queen Wilhelmina and Princess Juliana of the Netherlands also often gather in The Hague.
Today Hersmann went to The Hague to meet with Dutch Princess Juliana and Chairman of the Council of Ministers Dirk Geer to discuss the issue of "protecting" Dutch Guiana.
"Prince, Your Highness the Princess, I have seen the hulls of all three battlecruisers. They are very good. We can buy them."
Hersmann first met Prince Bernhard and Princess Juliana in a conference room at the Royal Palace in The Hague.
Both men were undoubtedly Germanophiles...in fact, they were Germans at all, so Hessmann spoke to them in German.
"That's great, we can save a lot of money." Princess Juliana looked very happy. Not only because three expensive battlecruisers were sold, but also the vexing problem of the Dutch East Indies was solved - where is the Dutch East Indies better than South Africa? There are gold mines in South Africa, and there are also Boer compatriots. It is a real "colony". However, the Dutch East Indies did not colonize many people at all. The residents there were either indigenous or Chinese.
"With South Africa, the Netherlands will still be short of money?" Hersman laughed. "40% of the world's gold can be produced there. The wallet of the British Empire is supported by South African gold."
"All Germanic people in the Netherlands will be grateful to Germany, and the Germanic people in the Netherlands and the Germanic people in Germany are originally one family." Juliana said with a smile, "I think Congress will soon approve the motion to join the European Mark Area... … Once the war is over, we will join the European Community.”
The Dutch and the Flemish people in Belgium (actually the Dutch) are actually branches of the Germanic people. There is a tradition of being pro-German, especially among the upper class of the Netherlands - three generations of queens have married German princes, and later Bei Queen Aatrix even married a Nazi prince!
But being pro-German is one thing, fighting alongside Germany is another. Although neither the Queen nor the government of the Netherlands objected to Dutch citizens joining the German army as individuals (there were many such people), they also encouraged domestic factories to accept German military industry orders. However, it has been unwilling to relent on the issue of joining the European Community. It is not that it is unwilling to join, but that it is unwilling to join before the end of the war. Because joining the European Community means sharing the same fate with Germany, which means joining the war!
Hessmann was fully aware of the Dutch's desire not to go to war. He shrugged and said with a smile: "No problem. The European Community welcomes the Netherlands to join at any time. However... in order for us Europeans to win the war, We also need some convenience from the Netherlands.”
"Convenient?" Princess Holland smiled, "As long as we are not allowed to join the war, anything can be said."
"No, of course not." Hersman shook his head, "We don't need the Netherlands to join the war, we just need the Netherlands to give us a springboard to the Americas."
"Springboard?" Julianna was stunned and looked back at her husband. Prince Harnbet already understood Hersmann's request. He said to his wife: "My dear, what the Imperial Marshal wants is Dutch Guiana."
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