Without waiting for Noble to report the numbers, Admiral Kim hurriedly interrupted the other party: "We need unified planning and scheduling: at present, the large slipway is full, not only to complete the follow-up construction of the Essex-class, but also to build the Montana-class and a large number of escort aircraft carriers, as well as the follow-up ships of the Atlanta-class and Cleveland-class light cruisers and the construction plan of the Oregon City-class heavy cruisers." If we want to catch up with the bunker production plan, we will have to make overall arrangements, and it is likely that some models will need to be adjusted and reduced, and I suggest that we wait until an emergency meeting of the CMI will be convened. ”

Roosevelt nodded, he was also embarrassed by the British lion's big mouth request, of course, Noble could only agree, at least the Americans had promised to give 5 escort aircraft carriers first.

"Can you provide some more refined oil?" He looked at Roosevelt and Admiral King so badly that he almost burst into tears.

Roosevelt really couldn't bear to look at such a face -- this is a general, not a general of a small South American country, but a real admiral of the British Empire! Admiral Kim did not open his mouth -- because this matter was not in his charge, and Roosevelt did not even have anyone to play the round, so he had to say himself: "We will find a way to provide enough refined oil, at least 1 million tons per month, but only on the premise that shipping is unimpeded." ”

"Thank you very much, and finally ......," said Noble, who hesitated for a moment, and said in a very unspeakable tone, "because the home fleet has been heavily damaged and lacks strength, the Prime Minister also wants to repatriate two more George V-class battleships and one aircraft carrier from the Far East." ”

If this was said before, Admiral Jin would have been furious again, but this time he didn't say anything, only silenced for a moment, and said with a slightly hesitant but still positive attitude: "I basically agree, let's return to Britain after the supply is completed at the end of this month." ”

After Noble's farewell, Roosevelt felt strange that he could not understand why Admiral King had suddenly changed his temper.

"Let the British command our ships to go to war, and this kind of thing must not be done again." Speaking of excitement, Admiral Jin couldn't help but slap the table, "Churchill, this dog-mother, Lao Tzu lent him 3 battleships and sank, and the ships sank - just like those 8 escort aircraft carriers, it's a big deal to build them again!" But there are 4,000 U.S. Navy on it! President! Not only 4,000 officers and soldiers, but also 4,000 families behind! As a result, I was told that less than 500 people had been rescued, and many others were injured and disabled, so how could I explain to the Atlantic Fleet? How do I account for their loved ones? How much effort and cost does it cost to train 4,000 navies? ”

Roosevelt was silent, although he had developed a hard-hearted personality after many years in power, but his words touched him somewhat: after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet sank and severely damaged a large number of warships, and the losses were far greater than now, but the number of casualties was only 2,500. This time it was good, a trip to Great Britain lost more than 3,500 people. If, as in the case of the naval battle in the South Pacific, the Americans themselves commanded and their skills were inferior, everyone had nothing to say, the problem was that the battle was sunk under the command of the British, and there were problems in the tactical arrangement, and Admiral Tovey had already taken the blame for this and resigned. If this news is published, there will be a great uproar in the custody of public opinion - they will soon associate the two.

"What do you want to do next?"

"The British ships can all be returned to them, but I do not agree to carry our aviation on their ships, unless the warships are under our command. In addition, if the British warships are aided again in the future, or purely only for ships, then the navy has no opinion. If you have to give it with the ship and people, it must be under our direct command, and we can't let them toss around, those-in the Royal Navy don't understand the essence of aircraft carrier operations in the new era, and they always think that they are terrible to blow up a Taranto! Having been taught a lesson by the Japanese in the Indian Ocean, and this time by the Germans in the North Sea, how many warships can the United States have for them to squander? ”

Roosevelt sighed: since the Battle of the Indian Ocean, confidence in the British had begun to waver in the Navy, and the disastrous defeat in the North Sea had shattered that belief once and for all. On the other hand, the United States learned through intelligence channels that Germany had not only initially taken control of Italy's production of important equipment, but had also begun to take full command of the Italian navy and air force. Moreover, the United States gave Britain more than 10 times as much aid as Germany gave to Italy. But the British always held on to the shelf and refused to let it go.

Roosevelt thought to himself: Japan was able to command the German-Italian fleet because the Japanese navy was experienced and had superb command skills, so forget about the two brushes of the Royal Navy -- the former hegemon of the four seas was now unable to defeat even the Germans.

"Is this the unanimous opinion of the Navy?"

"It's the unanimous opinion of the Navy! The Atlantic Fleet reacted strongly to this campaign, and was resolutely opposed to letting the British command the task force of the USS Independence and the USS Pennsylvania again, and we could go to Britain to support the British, but we had to maintain our independence -- the navy was not afraid of sacrifice, but it could not be sacrificed in vain. ”

"Who will be chosen by the commander to go to the UK?"

"This time under the command of Rear Admiral Brown, and when the large fleet is brought in, Admiral Ingersoll can be the commander-in-chief - we can not ask for command of the Royal Navy, but at least the Atlantic Fleet should command its own warships and not be blindly commanded by the British."

"Okay." Roosevelt nodded, "I will convey this opinion to Prime Minister Churchill, sometimes losing the battle is not necessarily a bad thing." After suffering a great defeat in North Africa, Italy realized the importance of introducing the Germans and the German command system, and later had the prestige of Rommel and Guderian and the great victory of the Axis Africa; The Royal Navy has suffered such a big defeat this time, I hope they can wake up and quickly find the right path, otherwise those officers and soldiers will die in vain. But will your agreement so simply to return the warship provoke opposition from the Pacific Fleet? ”

"Of course there are opinions, but there are more problems if you don't return them." Admiral King patiently explained the situation to Roosevelt, "After the German main fleet broke through into the North Atlantic, it has posed a threat to the east coast, and at present we only have one battleship Iowa and the USS Lexington (Essex-class) that have just been put into service, and we have not even had time to complete all the sea trials, and the USS Princeton (Independence-class) light aircraft carrier will be in service next week, and if the Germans pounce, we can only rely on this strength in the short term." ”

"What about other warships? I remember that several battleships would have ended their modernization ahead of schedule. ”

"The USS Nevada (Nevada) and USS Tennessee (Tennessee class) are expected to be ready for service in March, and the USS California (Tennessee class) and USS West Virginia (Colorado class) will end their modernization ahead of schedule in June and July." Admiral King said, "It is not very dangerous from the perspective of the existing forces, even if the German fleet does come straight at us, it will be at least a week before it reaches the east coast, and in a week the British warships will be repaired and ready to set off." After March, the main forces in the Atlantic will begin to recover. On the contrary, I am worried that the German fleet will not come to the east coast at all just to break diplomatic relations, and then it will be troublesome - the Atlantic Ocean is so big, who can easily catch them? ”

In the scene depicted by Admiral King: although the British had gained some strength and had an advantage over the German fleet, it had to be dispatched in its entirety in order to actually play its role, and in case the German fleet broke up the battle, the British ships would not be enough, and other forces had to be added -- either the forces of the Atlantic Fleet should be used, or the two British ships George V and one Radiance class in the Pacific Ocean should be returned to them, and it would be more reliable to let the British take charge of the Atlantic themselves, and the Atlantic Fleet would continue to be responsible for defending the east coast What used to be a slogan is now a real threat.

"Then the power of the Pacific Fleet will not be enough. There was only one Essex, one Saratoga and three battleships left. Judging from the situation of this campaign, escort aircraft carriers cannot engage aircraft carriers of regular fleets. Roosevelt, who had served as assistant secretary of the Navy and was not a layman to the Navy, asked worriedly, "The situation in the Pacific must be maintained, and even if we do not attack for the time being, we must not retreat, otherwise we will not be able to account for our country, and we will not allow the Japanese to threaten Australia...... What are you going to do about this? ”

"When the British fleet returns and the situation in the Atlantic is stabilized, it is expected that the Lexington and Independence will join the Pacific Fleet in May, and then the New Jersey will also be commissioned (Iowa class), so that the Pacific Fleet will have three fleet aircraft carriers, one light aircraft carrier, and four modern battleships as the core of the naval force, which is basically sufficient -- with the passage of time, we will have more and more new warships in service, and our strength will gradually increase." Admiral Kim thought for a moment, "In the current 1-2 months of special difficult times, we are adopting a relatively conservative strategy in the Far East, taking the principle of consolidating existing strategic positions as the principle and committing more land forces and aircraft. The Pacific Fleet can still take the initiative, and the need for warships is less urgent than that of the Atlantic. In addition, I heard General Stilwell say that the Chinese battlefield has been doing very well recently, and that at least 200,000 square kilometers of territory has been recovered, which is a rare bright spot among the allies. If we give a little, China will surprise us. ”

Roosevelt nodded subconsciously: "I understand your thoughts, and I agree to return the British warships to them, and I can think about other issues again." ”

After Admiral King left the Oval Office, Roosevelt had Admiral Lehi, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recruited, who was his confidant, and although his power within the Navy was greatly squeezed out by Admiral King, Roosevelt never wavered in his trust. To him, Admiral King was nothing more than a usable naval leader, and Lehi was his own. (To be continued.) )