Raeder fell silent with some disappointment. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoRaeder is actually no stranger to what Hitler said about the shortage of resources. None of Germany is self-sufficient, except for coal. From the copper wires necessary for various electrical appliances to the aluminum alloys used to make airplanes, Germany had to buy raw materials from abroad, otherwise the war machine would be in danger of stopping itself due to the depletion of batteries.

If this were not the case, the officials of the German Ministry of Economy in the past two years would not have marched into the territory of Austria and other countries on the front foot, and then immediately killed the strategic resource reserves of these countries like hungry dogs. It's not that these officials want to fill their pockets and make their food look ugly, it's that these raw materials are very important to Germany!

Although Germany had been facing this problem for a long time, Raeder did not pay much attention to it when formulating the wartime shipbuilding plan. After all, the blockade facing Germany today is far less severe than it was during the First World War, and the countries of Eastern and Southern Europe are engaged in massive trade with Germany, acting as a lubricant for the German war machine; At present, one of the most critical raw materials for Germany's war war is to rely on Italy's North African oil fields to fill the shortfall. Raeder had thought that Germany today had solved the problem of raw materials through neutral countries, but he did not expect that it would still hover over Germany like a ghost, and would become a direct obstacle to his fleet expansion plans.

Hitler rubbed his mustache with the index finger of his right hand and slowly muttered: "However, it is still necessary for Germany to build a new large capital ship to meet the challenge from the United States." According to various intelligences, Roosevelt is very likely to break the tradition of US presidentship and continue to govern in this year's general election, which is a very grim signal for us. Roosevelt, the filthy agent of the International Jewish Bloc, harbored a vicious hatred of National Socialist Germany stronger than British hostility to Germany; As long as he dominates the White House for one day, we must be absolutely vigilant against the United States. ”

"It is indeed difficult to start construction of 4 new battleships, but it is still capable of building 1~2 battleships." Hitler quickly calculated the future situation and said with a bright eye. At present, the Soviet Union is mired in the whirlpool of the Winter War, and the stubborn resistance of the small country of Finland has made the Soviet Union extremely embarrassed both economically and strategically: not only has the West expelled it from the League of Nations and imposed severe economic sanctions, but Moscow is also afraid of the possibility of attracting the prying eyes of Germany as its powerful paint skin is punctured.

In such a situation, Germany would be very sure of getting more supplies from the Soviet Union, its troubled neighbor to the East. At that time, as long as you buy a lot of money and store it, you don't have to worry about the rare metals and other raw materials needed to build an additional battleship.

Hearing this statement, Raeder, who was originally in a lost mood, couldn't help but light up in his eyes. Although Hitler's figures were a bit shabby compared to the scale of shipbuilding in Britain and the United States, the development of battleships in the German Navy was not interrupted. Excited, Raeder decided to strike while the iron was hot; He immediately pulled out a few design drawings that had been prepared long ago from his papers, and then arranged them neatly in front of Hitler's eyes.

"My Führer, the Navy has picked out 3 options for the new battleship, and it is up to you to make the final decision." Raeder's face still had that solemn look on his face, but at this moment, he was asking for help, but there was a hint of flattery in his words. Hitler looked at the neat blueprints of different styles on the table, and said, "Your Excellency, please give me a brief introduction to the characteristics of each of them in terms of combat performance and construction period." ”

Raeder nodded, pointed to these drawings and spoke in turn: "Plan A is a simple firepower enhancement version of the Bismarck-class, and the fourth triple 450 mm main gun turret is arranged by elongating the main protection area. Since the combat positioning of the warship in the ocean-going attack and the type of main guns it is equipped with have not changed, her speed and protection have also been maintained at the level of the Bismarck-class, with only a slight increase in range. It has a design standard displacement of 59,000 tons and a full load displacement of more than 70,000 tons. The subsystems of this solution are almost all existing mature technology, and its construction time is also the lowest, if the shift system can be implemented, it will definitely appear on the ocean within 3 years. ”

"The performance indicators of Plan B are about the same as those of Case A, except that the main gun is replaced with a three-seat quadruple layout. Due to the tonnage reduction brought about by the reduction of the number of turrets, the standard displacement of the project was controlled at 56,500 tons, which is the least resource-consuming of the three options. However, the quadruple 450 mm main turret required a new development by Krupp Military Industry, which was likely to delay the construction of the battleship due to technical problems with the main turret. Although we have successfully equipped the quadruple turret on the Pocket Patrol, the 283 mm gun is no match for the 450 mm gun. As a result, we will still be taking some of the technical risks. ”

Raeddell paused, and his face bloomed with antiquation and eagerness: "The C plan is completely born from the Bismarck class, and it is the ideal battleship for the future of the German Navy. She continued the excellent indicators of her predecessor's stable and fully loaded speed of 30 knots, and at the same time greatly improved her firepower and defense: it was equipped with 9 powerful 530mm L45 super cannons, and the main armor was 50~70mm thicker than the Bismarck. The standard displacement of the case reaches 70,000 tons, and the combat effectiveness of a single ship can ensure the absolute suppression of the British and American capital ships in the future! The only problem is that her construction cycle can drag on to more than 4 years. After all, her weapon system was completely redeveloped. ”

"Do we have plans to build this new gun now?" Hitler asked with a frown.

"Since 1938, Krupp has been working on the development of a 530-mm caliber test gun. It is expected that next year, the gun will be able to complete a full-fledged test of ballistic data. Raeder was in high spirits and began to share his information with Hitler, "This cannon weighs 270 tons, almost twice the weight of the 450-mm cannon on the Bismarck; Each shell has an astonishing 2600kg, and the muzzle velocity can reach 750m/s. Now there are no serious technical difficulties with the artillery itself, and all that remains is the supporting turret servo equipment. It is believed that before the completion of the battleship, a qualified turret will definitely be able to be manufactured. ……”

Under Raeder's detailed description with ulterior motives, Hitler's heart also became more and more hot. The former wandering painter, who had always considered himself an artist, had no resistance to grandeur and grandeur – most of his early postcards were set against the backdrop of majestic buildings, and majestic warships were no exception.

Historically, Hitler has embodied his love for "big" to the extreme: he not only hand-picked the 380 mm guns of the Bismarck class (the German Navy originally wanted to use eight 350 mm guns), planned a large-scale reconstruction of Berlin to be transformed into "Germania" after the war, and also paid great attention to a series of resource-intensive projects such as the Mouse tank, the V2 missile, and the P-1000 super heavy tank. At this time, in the face of this battleship on the drawings, which far surpassed the Bismarck-class in terms of size and combat effectiveness, Hitler's artistic germs began to grow rapidly, and there was no more calm and meticulous thinking in his heart.

"Let's hold a special meeting tomorrow at the Prime Minister's Office. If they don't object, then Plan C will be officially put into practice. Hitler licked his lips and spoke. Raeder was overjoyed to receive this promise. Although Hitler still had to bring the project, which cost as much as 280 million marks per unit, to a cabinet meeting, his own opinion was able to determine the final outcome to a considerable extent. What's more, what is the background of the current Minister of Economy, Walter? His brother is Qatar, the monopoly of the German shipbuilding industry, and such a high order is thrown on his family's head, how can he object?

After fantasizing about the spectacle of a 70,000-ton ship cleaving the waves, Raeder didn't forget what he was doing. He quickly regained his mind and reported to Hitler the plans for the construction of aircraft carriers and other types of ships one by one. Since aircraft carriers have proven their worth in actual combat, even though the German Navy rolled out as many as seven aircraft carriers last year, Hitler still agreed in principle to the budget for starting construction of two more fleet aircraft carriers this year.

They were of the same type as the three ships that had been built in 1939, and they were all converted from the Zeppelin-class: their standard displacement was increased to 35,000 tons, and the main improvements were made to the armor, hangar area, and flight deck. Since aircraft carriers do not involve complex case-hardened armor, their consumption of man-hours and resources is much lower than that of battleships, and the aircraft they carry are not worth a few dollars. Therefore, what the Navy really needs to train with heart is a carrier-based aircraft pilot who can skillfully deal with various situations on the sea.

In the construction of auxiliary ships, Hitler did not make a big cut like he did with large warships, but basically met the requirements of the navy. Among them, 15 Z-type destroyers are ready to be started, almost twice as many as last year, and the number of submarines will also exceed 100. Raeder secretly estimated that after calculating the cost of naval aviation, the navy's budget this year is expected to reach 40 percent of the total military expenditure.

Raeder didn't think there was anything wrong with that. Anyway, the army is now squatting stupidly with the French on the Western Front, why do they still occupy so many resources? Now the navy is the Optimus Pillar that fought bloodily for Germany, and it has shared more resources, and it is not against the peace at all! (To be continued.) )