"Ever since the use of aircraft in the military field, the situation on the battlefield has changed dramatically. The side that occupies air superiority can easily achieve reconnaissance coverage of hundreds of kilometers, and thus grasp the absolute initiative on the battlefield. And in the vast ocean, this reconnaissance advantage can be directly translated into victory in naval battles......"

"In the Battle of Skagerrak (Battle of Jutland), there is no doubt that a decisive result would have been achieved if our side had carried out effective aerial reconnaissance of the war zone. The main force of the High Seas Fleet can not only achieve a perfect interception of the Betty War Patrol detachment, but also beat and annihilate this impulsive bull; It is better to discover the existence of the British Grand Fleet in advance, and choose whether to snatch the T-shaped crosshead or turn to avoid it in advance. However, it is a pity that the German Navy at that time did not realize the role of aircraft, so that the main force of our fleet was snatched twice in a row by the British in a naval battle, and almost buried the entire army here. If it weren't for the lack of delayed fuses of British armor-piercing shells, our battle cruisers would have suffered heavy losses in the decisive assault that finally covered the breakthrough of the main fleet, and the final result was simply unimaginable......"

"In addition to reconnaissance, today's aircraft are also sufficient to play the role of attackers. In 1921, the battleship Osterfrisland, which we had compensated the United States, was converted into a target ship and subsequently sunk under bomb attacks dropped by bombers; Although the target of the attack was a fixed target without anti-aircraft fire, it undoubtedly opened the door to a whole new naval battle. As long as pilots are trained, it is not impossible to attack moving targets, not to mention that today's aircraft manufacturing technology is much more sophisticated than six years ago, and its speed, range, and the weight of bombs it can carry have been significantly improved compared with the past, and it has become ......more and more possible to attack warships from the air."

"If Germany can develop a naval fleet with strong air power, it will gain an immeasurably large advantage in future wars. Our fleet can avoid powerful enemies and stab sharp daggers in the weakest points of the opponent; Despite the alternation of day and night, and the impact of bad weather on aircraft sorties, the impact it can make is unmatched. And in the case of undermining the enemy's right to use the sea, the aircraft can play an excellent role: it can detect transport ships at a distance of 10 times the normal observation distance and launch a devastating attack on these slow targets with bombs......"

In an office building in Port Kiel, Vice Admiral Raeder was perusing the letters sent by Fang Yan. His face was solemn, and there was not the slightest hint of casualness or contempt in his expression: although the writer of these letters was only a young man who was not even a regular military officer, the other party had already established his unshakable position in the industry through the book of revelation that swept the whole country. After carefully reading the contents of the letter, Raeder was equally attracted by the ideas it described, and a sense of recognition of the truth was born. Even putting aside the feasibility of an aircraft-to-ship attack, reconnaissance alone can give the side with air superiority the upper hand!

"That being said, it's going to be hard to implement." Reddell frowned slightly. The Treaty of Versailles clearly stipulated that Germany was not allowed to possess military aircraft, so much so that now all German fighter research and manufacturing projects can only be carried out secretly abroad; The new cruisers currently under construction can only be carefully equipped with two civilian seaplanes in the name of meeting the needs of maritime search and rescue. Under such circumstances, it will undoubtedly be difficult to build an aviation-type warship, and if Britain and France resolutely do not let go of the constraints on carrier-based aircraft, it will be difficult for this type of warship to form its due combat effectiveness, and eventually cause a serious waste of resources.

Receiving Raeder's refusal reply, Fang Yan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in his heart, although he had expected that there would be considerable resistance to the construction of the aircraft carrier now, he still felt unspeakable regret. In the eyes of people in the current era, carrier-based aircraft can only be an auxiliary in naval warfare at most, and what can really annihilate a strong enemy at sea is still thick and strong large-caliber artillery. And this is also a matter of no choice, after all, everyone in the era cannot predict that the performance of the aircraft will make a qualitative leap in the future like Fang Yan!

However, Fang Yan's efforts were not without effect. Reeder was moved by the fact that in a later reply, he made it clear to him that what the German Navy needed most now was a new capital ship that could replace the old dreadnought; After this gap is filled, the project of the air warship will also have a great chance of being put into practice. After all, even if it is only in the role of auxiliary, the role of carrier-based aviation in the current naval strategy and tactics is also irreplaceable; Supporting the Navy on only one leg of naval artillery is definitely a bleak road with no future.

After receiving Raeder's reply, Fang Yan also understood that his influence on the development of the German Navy ended here. At present, Germany has its own unique national conditions, which makes it almost impossible for the navy to follow Fang Yan's tactical concept based on the vision of the traverser, and turn all the 60,000-ton ships allowed by the "Versailles Treaty" into the kind of light firepower fast cruiser that he ideally can be converted into aircraft carriers at any time in the future. The navy will inevitably start construction of a few traditional artillery ships first, and will not consider getting involved in the aviation field until the pit is basically filled. However, Fang Yan was not too frustrated, at least Raeder opened a window for himself, and he could give himself the opportunity to use the production capacity and funds of the Weimar era to enrich the aviation of the future German Navy.

"Then let's first determine the model for the 10,000-ton traditional capital ship." Fang Yan's eyes flashed, and he quickly clarified the path he was going to take. Since the start of the construction of aviation warships is premised on the construction of such ships, he will help the German Navy, which is still undecided, to finalize the latter's focus as soon as possible, and submit it to the Diet for the corresponding funds for the construction of the ship. Relying on the cognition based on later generations, Fang Yan also quickly made an ideal positioning for this kind of artillery-type ship that had to be built at a height beyond the outside.

From a macro strategic point of view, the "Deutschland" class armored ships that Germany chose to build in 1929 are undoubtedly a model of considerable success. Equipped with six 283-mm guns and with a range of more than 15,000 nautical miles, it perfectly meets the characteristics of destroying the enemy's sea power -- the right to use the sea, and can be defeated by a cruiser that cannot be defeated, and a battleship that cannot be defeated can escape from the tiger's mouth at a speed of about 27 knots. Although this type of ship had no chance of escaping in the face of the three battle cruisers of the British Navy and the new high-speed battleships of various countries after all, it was only a cruiser-class ship with a standard displacement of 12,000 tons, and it was already a rare thing for the German designers at that time to achieve that kind of performance!

Therefore, Fang Yan also decided to follow the idea of the German class in another plane for the design of the new ship, but only to optimize it in depth in specific details. Although the historical version of the German class is strategically correct, there are still quite a few flaws in the choice of technology, and Fang Yan wants to remove all these flaws and make it truly a first-class warship that can be called perfect in all fields. Since this concept of ship was originally the final choice of the German Navy for its own 10,000-ton capital ship, Fang Yan could also save a lot of trouble by doing so.

The first thing that needs to be improved is the weapon system. The six 283 mm guns equipped with the historical German class are newly developed and strengthened, with a barrel length of 52 times (German standard), which can shoot a 300kg projectile at a high speed of 910m/s. In fact, there was no need for such a powerful main gun, because even the later extra-treaty cruisers had few armor capable of withstanding 203-mm shells. And in the face of a battleship-level enemy, the 283 mm caliber naval guns are weak and weak, not to mention that this kind of small ship with little armor is not at all able to go on the battle line and fight the enemy's capital ships equipped with big and thick pipes!

Therefore, Fang Yan's weakening of the power of his main cannon is imperative. The 283 mm L45 (German standard) naval gun equipped with the original battle cruiser Von der Tenn of the old High Seas Fleet was enough to deal a fatal blow to future cruisers. This results in a considerable amount of weight savings that can be used to enhance other properties.

The main reason why the caliber of the newly built main gun is still set at this level is that Fang Yan is far-sighted out of political influence. Historically, when the construction of the German class began, it immediately caused panic in the French Navy, because they lacked fast capital ships, and none of them could deal an effective blow to this class of warships. In order to protect its Atlantic transport lines in the possible Franco-German war, the French Navy launched two Dunkirk-class high-speed battleships equipped with eight 330 mm guns and a speed of more than 30 knots. This in turn caused strong unease in the Italian Navy, which had France as its imaginary enemy, and in addition to the extensive refit of its four old dreadnoughts, it also pushed two new Vittorio Veneto-class battleships onto the slipway. The European naval race was like a falling domino, involving Germany, France, and Italy, at a time when the British Empire, exhausted by the economic crisis, could not follow suit.

Faced with Germany, which was also nervous about the expansion of the French navy, Britain, which knew that it was powerless to stop the pace of its naval recovery, chose to use the "Anglo-German Naval Agreement" to untie the shackles of the former, in order to reshape the balance of power in Europe by uniting with Germany. And this is undoubtedly an ideal situation for Germany!