Chapter 1,201 Fleet Transformation 1
Chapter 1201 Fleet Transformation 1
"My uncle Prince Leopold once said to me that the staff are always fully prepared for the last war. I think this is very reasonable. Don't you think that the current situation of surface ships Isn't the method of fighting a naval and gun battle that has lasted for hundreds of years? Whoever has bigger, stronger, and more warships will have an advantage. The two sides form a battle line like Nelson's time, and then line up to shoot. Until one side withdraws from the battlefield, from the artillery From its invention to the present, naval engagements have revolved around artillery, defense and speed. It has always been a two-dimensional engagement."
"This situation has lasted for hundreds of years, and now it is time to break it! But unfortunately, this day came a little late. We did not make relevant preparations before the war, and now It will take some time for us to adjust our navy to adapt to this change, which may take a long time," the prince said.
"A sword is not suitable for fighting before it is actually forged. And our situation is not very bad. In this case, why don't we temporarily withdraw our fists, and then wait for the charge to be completed before punching out? Then At that time, I can guarantee that our fleet can gallop freely and freely in the North Sea!"
In the environment of World War 1 and World War 2, it was impossible to rely on the little wealth and technology before the war to fight directly to the end. That would have no future. Look at how NB the German Army and Air Force started in history? And what's the result? When the opponent surpasses you technically and becomes familiar with you tactically, in a protracted war, the side with material and national strength advantages can always make a comeback!
To paraphrase a more popular RTS game in later generations, when you have an advantage in playing half-pull and half-pull, you can choose to open a mine, or upgrade to three books, or at least go home to replenish your game. Otherwise, if you seem to be about to achieve something big and rush directly to your opponent's house, you will be unable to move forward and lose all your advantages. But it ultimately failed due to lack of technology and resource support.
The same is true for the current German Navy, which has advantages in fighting in the open sea. But the British have already built arrow towers at home, and the entire army has regained health and blue at home. The German navy does not yet have the capital to hang out at the door of the British for a long time. It can go there once in a while, but if it goes too much, something will definitely happen. Why can the Thunder-Serbrus battle be won so beautifully? The reason is very simple. At that time, the British had not yet raised arrow towers (the air force could not).
Therefore, for the prince, the best way for the German Navy at present is to open mines and farm monsters (kill monsters) while patiently waiting for his four aircraft carriers to take shape. At the same time, in order to defend against possible attacks by the British on the German naval base, various defensive measures also need to be taken.
"The use of aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft has a huge impact on the transformation of the entire naval system. It is not just the addition of an aircraft carrier detachment for surface combat. It is also very important for the entire command structure and logistics system. We currently plan to build 4 aircraft carriers. , it is expected that at least 300 carrier-based aircraft and crews will be allocated. An additional 200 aircraft and crews will be allocated as backup. This burden is already huge,
Considering the shore-based aircraft that need to be assigned to the base's air defense issues, the number of front-line aircraft is conservatively estimated to be more than 800! Therefore, my opinion is to be steady. Let the High Seas Fleet be in a low-intensity combat situation and prepare for the next stage of the battle. "The prince expressed his opinion.
"At this time, I hope that His Majesty and the Supreme Command can entrust me with the task of naval reform. After all, I will be responsible for all naval operations from now on until the end of the Gulf of Riga offensive. As for the carrier-based aircraft air force, The Bavarian Air Force can also complete the construction and training. The first batch of 300 carrier-based aircraft and pilots can be transferred from the Kingdom of Bavaria Air Force, and the Kingdom of Prussia can only make up for the rest." The prince put forward his own opinion.
After the prince put forward this opinion, everyone present, including Tirpitz, Loler and others, showed surprise and even some hostility to this opinion. This is understandable. For the Army, the establishment of the Naval Aviation Force will divert aircraft that originally belonged to the Army. As for the navy, the original troika of the three navies, namely the Secretary of State for the Navy, the Office of the Navy, and the High Seas Fleet, may be about to change!
"Change? How to change? Do we need to change the structure of the existing naval troika?" The Kaiser ignored Tirpitz and others. For travelers, this is the good thing about the German political system. Under normal circumstances, as long as the Kaiser wants to do something, he doesn't need to care too much about other people's opinions. Of course, that wouldn’t work if the Kaiser didn’t understand….
"Add an additional naval aviation department! This aviation department is responsible for the use and training of carrier-based and land-based aircraft. All matters related to conventional aviation. During the war, the naval aviation is under the command of the Grand Fleet Commander. This department will be temporarily I will take command and be directly responsible to the Kaiser." After that, the prince distributed a list of the German naval aviation force he planned to the attendees.
In addition to the 300 single-engine carrier-based aircraft, the current first-line aircraft also has 6 squadrons of 120 K-4 Tracer twin-engine interceptors used to deal with British bombers, and at least 6 squadrons, a total of 120 K-6 bombers will carry torpedoes and bombs to perform anti-ship missions. The remaining 260 aircraft also include many 60 long-range seaplanes and 50 K-4 bombers as supplements. The remaining ones are the single-engine K-1 fighter jets and the K-2 fighter jets that will be older in the future. Although the number is not large, because the proportion of twin-engine aircraft is very high, the contribution of German air power is far more than what appears on paper!
800 aircraft of various types is not a small number. What is this concept? Currently, Germany only has about 4,300 to 4,800 front-line aircraft on the Western Front, while the total number of front-line Air Force aircraft on the Eastern Front is between 1,200 and 1,500. The air war on the Western Front was very brutal, and production was only slightly more than consumption. Considering that the British and French air fleets are also constantly expanding, the surplus is very limited.
The situation of the Eastern Front Air Force is much better, but if you consider future air strikes on the Polish pockets and the deployment of the air force in the Balkans, the margin is relatively limited. Therefore, if the prince's plan wants to be realized, it can only start from Bavaria. The Air Force allocated part of it to build this framework, and then added it bit by bit. This process will be relatively lengthy. The prince flies planes by himself, and he understands this aspect, and his status and reputation are enough. It is reasonable to ask the navy to set up another department and make himself the boss.
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