"17 inches ......," Churchill whispered, and his slightly flabby fat face revealed a complicated look, as if shocked, angry, fearful, and a little emotional, and relieved.

Contrary to what most people imagine, the artillery technology of battleships was developed to an extremely high level as early as 20 years ago during the world wars. Following the start of the 15-inch (381 mm) era in 1912, Britain, in order to maintain its firepower superiority, began the development of 18-inch guns: the large cruiser HMS Fury, commissioned in 1917, was equipped with two 18-inch 40-diameter guns, the supreme product of British military industry due to wartime speed climbing technology. Although the gun is deployed in a single turret, it has all kinds of servo mechanisms, and because of this, its rate of fire can also reach 1 round per minute that fully meets the combat requirements.

After that, after another 5 years of technical research, the British military industry finally gained a foothold in the fantastic firepower height of the 18-inch level. In view of the fact that the arms race in the world navy has increased for some time after the war, the British designers confidently launched their proud work: the British battleship of the future will be a super behemoth with a standing displacement of 48,500 tons and nine 18-inch 45-diameter guns. And even the battle cruisers will be equipped with 16-inch L45 guns, and the firepower is two notches higher than the existing 15-inch L42!

However, Britain, which has just been devastated by the world war, is no longer the empire that never sets on the sun and dominates the ocean. In order to contain the unstoppable rise of the United States, Britain had to use a piece of paper to tie the hands and feet of all the world's powers, including itself, with the Washington Naval Treaty. In this case, the unprecedented power of the 18-inch cannon battleship plan was then shelved, and there was no chance to put it into practice. Since the post-war world is in a state of singing and dancing. Who is going to build this kind of murderous weapon when they are full of food? What's more, the treaty simply does not allow the existence of gun-carrying ships with a caliber of more than 16 inches, and the government will not allocate even a copper plate for research for the plan of an 18-inch artillery battleship!

However, Germany, which is determined to take revenge, is not among these countries that have limited arms. Since it never thought of conscientiously observing the Treaty of Versailles, the technical reserves of the German military industry have never stopped; And as a world-renowned artillery manufacturer. Even if Krupp's technology is not at the top, there is absolutely no doubt about the level of qualification. You must know that this company was also a good hand at casting large-caliber artillery in World War I, their 380 mm naval guns came out only 1 year later than the British, and the weight was 20% lighter than the British counterpart while ensuring the muzzle kinetic energy and barrel life!

According to Churchill's intelligence, the German Navy has had close ties with Italy's Ansal since the mid-20s, which is also the world's top arms manufacturer. After so many years of dormancy, Germany came up with a naval gun that surpassed the 17-inch caliber. It's obviously a normal thing.

Despite the difference in stance, Churchill had to admit that the Germans' strategy of "aligning everything with needs" was extremely wise: the fundamental reason why the guns of the British Navy's capital ships fell from 18 inches of N3 to Nelson's 16 inches and then to George V's 14 inches was the result of the combined effect of the current situation and politics, but it was by no means a happy choice of the British Navy. Since Germany did not have this objective limitation, what reason was there to take the British detour, which was obviously forced to reduce the caliber of the main gun? Isn't this self-inflicted?

"If our strength is weak, we will have to consider seeking help from the French." Bond gritted his teeth. It can be seen how determined he was to say this, and how much self-esteem and face he threw away. Back then, the British Navy completely overwhelmed France. The Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 was a proud announcement to this Gallic chicken who was the master, and there was no exception for more than 100 years after that. In the eyes of the British during the First World War, the French Navy could not be their two fingers, and even after the war, when Britain was greatly weakened, the tatters of the French were completely inadequate in the eyes of the British Navy.

However, it was such a barbarian fleet that had been despised by the British for hundreds of years. The British Navy, which is now poor in donkey skills, sadly finds that it may really have to bow down to ask for help. For the British, who have always been above the top, this is really worse than killing them. From a military point of view, the current French fleet is indeed capable of contingency for Britain: it is a sizable force of 7 battleships, 3 aircraft carriers, 20 cruisers, and 66 destroyers, and its lineup on paper is only higher than that of the British Home Fleet, which has just been battered!

"General. I do not believe that this is an effective means of resolving the current crisis. Churchill shook his head slowly, but vetoed Bond's suggestion that he had so hard to throw away his face, "Don't forget, there is another country in the Mediterranean called Italy that is waiting." Although their army is poorly equipped and poorly trained, their navy is on par with the French! Now that our Mediterranean Fleet and the French Navy are there to suppress it, Italy does not dare to show signs of entering the war, but once the French Navy is massively transferred out of the Mediterranean, it will be difficult for us to guarantee that Mussolini will not have the courage to side with Germany. ”

The atmosphere in the room fell silent again, and for a moment the rain and thunder outside the window were so clear. Bond and a few other generals sat on either side of the long table, racking their brains as to how they could turn the tide of the situation. They were very aminantly not to ask Churchill for advice, because it would not only be unruly, but would also make them appear to be brainless straw bales. Knowing that the Minister of the Navy is only a civilian officer of the government, and his main function is to coordinate the manpower and material resources, as well as to compete for funds in the parliament, it is never known who can directly command the war. If the Admiralty has to bother with how to fight a war, then what do they need to do with professional soldiers?

"I think what we need to do most now is to strengthen naval aviation." A vice admiral, about 50 years old, suddenly spoke. Facing the gaze of everyone, this person did not have any hesitation and stage fright, but said to himself: "I have summarized today's battle report. Several of our battleships were sunk after leaving the port, and the Bismarck was also damaged by our land-based aircraft under the protection of fighter jets. This shows that the aviation is fully capable of threatening capital ships. In the absence of capital ships on par with the Germans, we can only rely on air power to achieve the stated mission. ”

"Because land-based aircraft have a limited combat radius and are unable to project their forces deeper into the ocean, carrier-based aircraft have become our only effective means of stopping German battleships. In contrast, a lightning strike with a destroyer or submarine will have little effect. Not to mention the fact that our destroyers themselves have range defects and are not able to independently cruise in the oceans; Even if she succeeded in spotting the traces of the German battleship, the high speed of the opponent would allow her to quickly escape after releasing the smoke. The middle-aged general added.

Hearing these words, a gleam flashed in Churchill's eyes. Although Bond and others did not discuss tactics with him, how could Churchill, an old-school man who had served in this position for four years and directly commanded the Royal Navy in the first year of the world war, not be familiar with the relevant business in the navy? At this time, the middle-aged general said something, and Churchill instantly grasped the key.

There are many ways to improve the combat effectiveness of carrier-based aviation, and the number of aircraft, the performance of individual aircraft, and the quality of personnel are all places that can be started. Either way, it will have a much more immediate effect than building a new type of warship. Even the longest replacement of a new aircraft can take only a few months when the technology is already available. If the Lion-class battleships, which are still in the keel state at this stage, were completed and could compete with the Bismarck-class, then Britain's sea shipping lines would have been interrupted and disabled long ago!

Thinking of the approach that could be achieved in a short period of time, Churchill's heart suddenly moved slightly. In the last war, the reason why the Allies were able to achieve the final victory was not the tenacity and tenacity of France, nor the strict blockade of Britain, nor the bloody sacrifice of Russia, but the giant in North America who became the human resource pool and arsenal of democratic countries. Otherwise, even the concerted efforts of Britain, France, and Russia would not have been able to bring the mighty German Empire to surrender on its knees.

Although the United States, which was not deeply involved in the world, was ruthlessly pitted by the treacherous and cunning European powers after the end of the war, and finally ended up in a bleak situation in which all its wealth and power were beaten by chickens and eggs, so that the isolationist sentiment in its country was even stronger than it was 25 years ago; However, due to its geographical location, the relationship between the American economy and Britain and France is naturally closer than that of Germany, where it was born. Churchill felt that he could ask them for help and let the tycoon give Britain enough help.

As far as Churchill knew, the current President of the United States, Roosevelt Jr., was not a man who was content to be kept to himself. He and his uncle, the famous Theodore? Roosevelt -- shared the same ambition to spread American power beyond North America and into the sunshine. Now that Europe has fallen into the whirlpool of war, he should see this opportunity of his own! (To be continued.) )