The Rise of the Empire

In fact, if we simply talk about projection capacity and sustained firepower output, aircraft carriers are far inferior to battleships. Take the Chitose aircraft carrier your country built for us as an example. This is an aircraft carrier close to 20,000 tons. If tethered to the upper deck, it can carry more than 85 aircraft. This performance is currently considered top-notch. "

"But if you think about the material reserves of this aircraft carrier, this aircraft carrier only has 250 tons of aviation fuel, and the maximum is no more than 280 tons! (The historical aviation fuel reserves of the Zuihe were only 475 tons.) Fighter aircraft generally use fuel at one time It takes about 400 kilograms to fly. (Including auxiliary fuel tanks) If it is a bomber or reconnaissance aircraft, it will use at least about 600 kilograms of fuel. In other words, our fuel can only support the fleet for about 500 sorties at most! "

"This may seem like a lot of sorties, but in fact, considering that every day, the aircraft carrier must arrange reconnaissance aircraft for reconnaissance and tracking, and when there is an alarm, it needs to release fighter jets for patrols, as well as our combat time of about three months. , our aviation fuel is not sufficient, and in the end, this aircraft carrier will have at least 100 sorties of fuel left for the final decisive battle. Therefore, if you want to use the carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier to attack the fleet, you can only use fuel It’s a bit uneconomical to say.”

"Secondly, in terms of ammunition, if we want to attack a transport ship of more than 5,000 tons, we must use at least 250KG bombs or torpedoes. And how much ammunition reserve do we have at this level? Taking the Chitose as an example, We have less than 300 bombs over 250KG. And there are only 32 torpedoes! If the attack relies entirely on aircraft, it is safe, but it is estimated that we will consider returning home in a month at most. After all, bombers attack We also need to consider the hit rate and the need for multiple hits, so from an ammunition perspective, it is not cost-effective to attack from an aircraft carrier," Betty explained.

"However, if we use battleships to attack, it will be much more cost-effective. We can use the main guns to attack large battleships and the secondary guns to attack small battleships. Taking the Fuso-class battleship as an example, the number of large-caliber artillery shells reserved by the Fuso-class is as high as 1,200 rounds. , and the number of secondary battery shells is only a lot more. In terms of ammunition quantity, the battleship performs better."

"Of course, you have to say that the battleship needs to be close to the target before it can attack it, and it needs to consume the heavy fuel on board. This is also true, but the Japanese battleship has a lot of heavy fuel, and it is easy to replenish it. You can just use the oil pipe to transport it, but It’s really difficult to replenish the torpedoes and bombs on an aircraft carrier. The trunk string of the aircraft carrier is so high. How do you use a crane to lift ammunition and torpedoes on the swaying sea? Why do you do this? It feels a bit hanging!" Betty finally said half seriously and half jokingly . (Note: During World War II, there were examples of small-scale ammunition replenishment for battleships at sea, but the author has never heard of replenishing torpedoes and heavy bombs for aircraft carriers.)

"Actually, it would be better to use the Americans' new large cruisers to do these things. They have faster speeds and moderate firepower. But unfortunately, we don't have them." Shimamura Hayao said with regret.

"Yes,

You are right. In fact, if possible, I think aircraft carriers, plus a certain number of battleships and a large number of cruisers, will be the core force in future naval battles. Aircraft carriers are the main output, cruisers are versatile and more flexible, and battleships are the mainstay of artillery warfare. "Betty said.

"Actually, in the early stages of the battle, I advocated limiting the scale of the use of aircraft carriers. We cannot let the Americans notice that we have concentrated five aircraft carriers at once. We can use aircraft on one or at most two aircraft carriers to conduct reconnaissance and reconnaissance to a limited extent. Air defense and anti-submarine missions. When the U.S. fleet misjudges the composition of our fleet, they will disperse their forces, which will give us opportunities to defeat each other. In addition, I hope that the scale of battleship operations can also be limited, and each round of attacks , we only need to eliminate the most valuable targets, instead of considering killing them all, we usually invest three to four battleships." Betty thought for a while and said.

"Well, if that's the case, some of our camouflaged warships can also be used. We can make it look like some warships are still in the port. In this case, the Americans will be more likely to be fooled." Shimamura Hayao added. "In fact, the core of your tactics is to consume the U.S. fleet through continuous proactive attacks, so that the overall strength of the U.S. fleet is within a range and cannot form an overwhelming advantage over us, right?"

"Yes, the national power of the Americans is not unlimited. The long construction cycle of capital ships determines that the growth of naval strength is slow. However, I must remind your country that if this batch of warships from our country and Italy are fully replenished, Afterwards, if your country cannot replenish new warships, the battle at sea will eventually collapse." Betty reminded.

"Replenishing new battleships? It's no longer possible. The empire's current situation makes it impossible to build new battleships. The construction cycle of aircraft carriers is too long for us. Even if new battleships are started now, it is estimated that they will not be able to build new battleships before the end of the war. In service. As for other countries? Except Germany and Austria, no one has extra warships. And Germany and Austria will not sell them to us." Shimamura Hayao said with a bitter smile.

"Okay, friends, relax a little. Needless to say about the future, at least we can win a big victory in the next battle. As soldiers, sometimes we don't need to consider the outcome of the final war, but focus on every battle now. Fighting, fighting well, is our duty." Betty patted the other party's shoulder and said.

"Yes, we will definitely achieve a huge victory this time. After all, the best battlefield commander in the American fleet has left, and the Americans themselves threw the key to victory into the Pacific Ocean." Shimamura Hayao said with a smile.

As a result, in the next few weeks, the Japanese Combined Fleet began to prepare for this operation codenamed Hurricane, and the British also stepped up to deliver the last aircraft carrier and some destroyers. With foreign blood transfusions and domestic efforts, the Japanese fleet completed preparations in two months. Four months after the war in the Sulawesi Sea ceased, a new storm is brewing in the Pacific Ocean, and with In the meantime, what is the U.S. fleet doing? Compared with the Japanese's fierce military strength, does the U.S. Navy have any new plans during this period?

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