The Rise of the Empire

Chapter 2850: Betty's Task Force One

This is really a huge fleet. You are tantamount to transferring the elite of the entire combined fleet! "Seeing the long list of warships in his hand, Hayao Shimamura was really stunned, because in this list, there are 5 aircraft carriers in the Hikari Fleet. In fact, the entire combined fleet now has only 4 aircraft carriers. , If you don’t speed up, Betty’s aircraft carrier wants to get together, at least another three months.

"Yes, I have mobilized almost all aircraft carriers that can be used, because this time the main method of attack is aircraft carrier attack. The carrier aircraft above is even more deadly than the 16-inch naval gun of the USS Nagato, so we must Ensure the number of aircraft carriers and enough carrier-based aircraft on them." Betty said.

"Are there more than 450 carrier-based aircraft? I think many of these aircraft must be stored as parts. Our aircraft carrier can't fit these aircraft." At Betty's reminder, Shimura Hayao saw the aircraft carrier entry. After the description of the number of carrier aircraft.

"We can tether some planes on the deck." Betty said indifferently.

"This is not good. Aircraft are precious assets. Should we just let them experience wind and rain? This will increase the difficulty of maintenance and greatly reduce the life of the aircraft." Shimura said.

"These are all necessary losses. For the advantage on the battlefield, we must tolerate some normal losses. Our aircraft carriers are not as many as the Americans, and if they are not full of planes, then they will not be able to fight at all." Betty's tone was flat. , But the meaning is very clear, this is the bottom line, the bottom line must be met. To be honest, Betty has always had an opinion on the stingy behavior of the Japanese.

"Well, let me convince the Fleet Commander to expand the organization." Yasuo Shimura chose to give in, and then he pointed to the battleship entry and said: "Your Excellency also cleared the battleship organization of the combined fleet. Six battleships, 2 of them. It is the Nagato-class battleship, and the other four are Fuso-class battleships. The most combative battleship in the combined fleet has been vacated. When you acted, your country sold us the Fury-class battleship and the Italian Caraggio The Nuo-class battleship should not be in place yet."

"If there are too many battleships, we can cut some." Betty said.

"Look at the situation. If such a large fleet is really needed, we should still keep it. After all, the American South Dakota-class battleships are said to have served 2 to 3 ships, and the rapid purchases from Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire There are also 3 battleships. If we reduce the number, there will be no advantage in fast battleships." Shimura Hayao said.

Although the Japanese already knew that the relations between the United States and Germany had broken up, he did not know that the Germans had temporarily detained the fast warships that were supposed to be delivered. Therefore, based on the principle of keeping the enemy lenient, Shimamura believes that the US fleet has about six fast battleships. If you consider the large cruisers owned by the Americans, and the Japanese Navy has no corresponding warships, the six fast battleships requested by Betty are almost guaranteed to be the bottom line for the outbreak of night battles or large-scale fleet artillery battles when they encounter the American fast fleet. !

According to Betty's thinking, this fast fleet can not beat the main force of the US Navy, but at least it must be able to win or retreat from the US fleet that can catch up with its own warships! The 5 aircraft carriers are the largest home base that the Japanese fleet can make now, and the 6 battleships are the bottom line for the victory of the Japanese fleet. The entire fleet can maintain a high speed of 25 knots for maneuvering. On the vast ocean, this fleet’s The strategic advantages of mobility are enormous.

Compared with the huge main fleet, the number of Japanese destroyers is still sad. However, compared with the previous naval battles, the quality of the Japanese fleet has begun to improve. The reason is very simple. The destroyers scoured from Italy have gradually been put in place. The high-end destroyers or destroyer leaders designed during these wars are naturally better than the destroyers that Japan is rushing to start construction.

However, considering the needs of the Pacific War, the Japanese Navy also made appropriate modifications when ordering these destroyers, reducing torpedo weapons, adding hydrophones, depth charges and original sonar systems to improve anti-submarine capabilities, and at the same time increase A large number of machine guns and machine guns were used for anti-aircraft shooting.

"Are there only 21 destroyers in total? Is this number a bit small? If necessary for combat, we can increase them appropriately." Shimamura said to Betty.

"This number is indeed not large, but we cannot add more destroyers. Even if destroyers sail at the most economical speed, their combat range is only up to 2,000 nautical miles. This time, we have to conduct long-term maneuvering operations on the ocean. , The range of the destroyer is very problematic, and the number of our high-speed supply ships is too small." Betty said helplessly.

Take the Japanese naval battleship as an example. Each battleship has a total reserve of heavy oil and coal at around 6000 tons. You can also overload your equipment when necessary. Although you can walk back and forth in the Pacific Ocean, it doesn't depend on supplies for a long time. The same is true for aircraft carriers~lightnovelpub.net~, but destroyers are different. Subject to current conditions, a 1500-ton destroyer can guarantee a range of 2,200 nautical miles at a speed of about 12 knots. In fact, In combat, this distance will be greatly reduced. Therefore, if destroyers are added, the pressure on replenishment will be very large, and additional high-speed supply ships need to be assigned. Such special high-speed supply ships are also scarce for the Japanese Navy. As an example, the entire Japanese fleet has only one ship... And if you use a slow supply ship to replenish through a preset replenishment point, then once you are caught by the opponent, the consequences will be unimaginable. This can be seen in the anti-broken diplomatic battle a few months ago.

Therefore, considering the supply pressure and the number of destroyers in the Japanese fleet, Betty only requires 21 destroyers. Even so, considering the supply of large warships, the Japanese Navy still needs to bring four large high-speed fuel supply ships to barely enough.

"Do you still bring the seaplane carrier?" Shimamura asked, looking at the empty seaplane carrier column in the list. After all, in the previous battle, the seaplane carrier was an important reconnaissance force of the fleet.

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