After deciding the fate of the refit of two giant high-speed cruise ships, Fang Yan set his sights on several cruise ships with slightly smaller size but full of conversion potential provided by the "German Labor Front". Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

As early as the end of 1933, when the National Socialist Party had just come to power, in order to allow the German workers to relax and be entertained after their work, and to dispel the latent discontent that might arise from the frenzied exploitation of their surplus value, Dr. Robert Ley, the pharmacist-turned-leader of the Labour Front, decided to set up an official tourism organization that would allow all workers to enjoy a vacation at a low price that had previously only been afforded by the upper classes. According to this idea, a large-scale cruise ship project to carry workers on vacation abroad was immediately put on the construction schedule; And with Fang Yan's efforts, these merchant ships, which were originally unknown in history, were finally able to change their appearance in another form this time, and became an active and shining brilliance in the picture scroll of this war.

"The Wilhelm Gustloff and the Robert Ley, both sister ships of the same class, completed in 1938. Its waterline has a total length of 230 meters, a total width of 26 meters, a registered displacement of 22,000 tons, a maximum stable output of 110,000 horsepower, and a speed of 32 knots. Fang Yan looked at the information documents provided by the Shipbuilding Bureau, and his eyes were full of happy smiles. Compared to the two slow cruise ships of the same name in another plane, the current two ships have been greatly improved and leaped in terms of length and speed. Although their tonnage is less than the historical 25,500 tons, it is clear that the displacement standards of warships and civilian ships cannot be compared simply side-by-side. According to Fang Yan's estimates, by the time they complete the modification, their true standard displacement will not be much smaller than that of the Xianghe sisters.

"Honorable General, do you see that? The structural strength calculation of these two mail ships actually used the standard of large warships! This means that we don't need to reinforce them structurally, as we did with Bremen and Europa. An old engineer with gray hair excitedly waved the strength calculation summary table in his hand and reported loudly to Fang Yan. Fang Yan stepped forward and looked at the standard formula carefully for a while, and his slightly tired face showed an overflowing joy.

On the other side of the office, another colonel of the Navy Shipbuilding Bureau, who was drowned in drawings, also exclaimed in a trilling voice: "Not only that, but their internal cabin design is also very much in line with the needs of the aircraft carrier." It can be used for ammunition and is an ideal storage area for volatile and dangerous jet fuel. Oh my God, where she was going to install the lift, it was already encircled by a large section of steel? There's also the entertainment hall in the middle of the hull, which occupies two deck heights, which can be converted into a hangar with only a small amount of work! ”

"The stability of these two cruise ships is also very good. They did not have an overly high freeboard, and although they rolled quickly, they were able to resist the overturning of the water after being hit by a torpedo. I think we could even consider fitting them with a 40 mm thick armored flight deck to withstand the bombardment of ordinary high-explosive shells. The actual combat of the battleship Bismarck had shown that this small thickness of horizontal armor was able to significantly reduce the damage caused by high-explosive shells. This is quite advantageous for maintaining the combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier. Designer Horner added.

When the situation in various fields was summarized in front of Fang Yan, Fang Yan also had a general and comprehensive understanding of these two merchant ships. Compared with the Bremen class, a purely civilian cruise ship, the congenital conditions for the Gustloff-class to be converted into an aircraft carrier are obviously much higher: the structure of her main cabin can be almost completely unaltered, and it is only necessary to dismantle all the existing tourist facilities inside, and then install various equipment belonging to the aircraft carrier and lay horizontal armor at the same time. If the plan is reasonable, the materials are complete, and the workers are killed, then the Gustloff and Ley are fully expected to be completed before the arrival of April 1940. At that time, they will no longer be harmless white rabbit ships, but powerful dragons that will completely end British maritime hegemony.

"The situation of the two ships Gustloff is completely worthy of our comprehensive refit. Fang Yan immediately made a decision, and said to the surrounding technicians with a firm expression. His eyes were slightly hot, as if he had seen the exciting scene of the two cruise ships being transformed into fleet aircraft carriers and galloping across the ocean with other warships of the German Navy: "In the retrofit plan, their flight deck length could not be shorter than 240 meters, and at the same time, it was still necessary to add a support structure on the port side to facilitate the laying of an inclined deck above them." In addition, the total area of the hangar after her renovation should also be as close as possible to the standard of the Zeppelin-class aircraft carrier. If space is really limited, then the length of the lower hangar should also be maintained, as I did with the hangar design of the Hipper-class light aircraft carrier. ”

In terms of the defense requirements of a total of 4 modified fleet aircraft carriers, Fang Yan also used his forward-looking vision of the current era to point out the direction of design for the famous engineers. In fact, the key points of defense of all aircraft carriers are the same: that is, first of all, to ensure that their ammunition depots and aviation fuel tanks will not be killed by bombs or torpedoes dropped by enemy aircraft, followed by key power equipment such as steam turbines, transmission shafts, and steering gears, then to protect boilers, generators, and other auxiliary engines, and finally to ensure reserve buoyancy, flight decks, and hangars.

While carrier-based aircraft and pilots are the most critical demonstration of an aircraft carrier fleet's strength, they are also expendable in naval and air warfare – especially for aircraft carriers with limited tonnage, and protecting hangars high above the water is itself a violation of physical laws, and sacrificing them is inevitable. For example, the German Navy's 13,200-ton Hippert-class light aircraft carrier was completely naked on its flight deck and hangar, and it was only on the Zeppelin-class that the situation was fundamentally reversed.

Compared with these 4 high-rich and handsome cruise ships with long hulls and fast speed, the conditions of the other candidate ships are greatly inferior. The two sisters, the "Deutschland" and the "Dresden", both have a registered displacement of 18,000 tons, but they are stubby ships with a length of less than 170 meters and a maximum speed of 22 knots. Judging by the requirements of the aircraft carrier, this is clearly unqualified data. If these two ships were to be remodeled as well, they would be even weaker than the French Béarne and the British Eagle (both scumbags converted from old battleships). More importantly, this low-speed aircraft carrier simply cannot find its place in the current combat system of the German Navy: the German Navy pursues an ocean-going attack, and how can a 22-knot aircraft carrier be grouped with the main fleet at 30 knots?

After careful consideration, Fang Yan finally decided to convert the two cruise ships into supply ships under the advice of everyone. Although it is far from qualified to become a capital aircraft carrier with their inherent indicators, if it is used as a transport and supply ship, it is a different situation. Their speed of 22 knots is more than enough to keep up with the main fleet sailing at economic speed, and the latter can take on the task of cows when needed. And their good displacement means that they can carry quite a lot of materials, and their logistics support capacity exceeds that of most carrying ships.

If there was to be a war, the two ships would simply fly the flag of a neutral nation and run away from the fleet. With the appearance of civilian ships and twice the speed of ordinary merchant ships, the chances of them being left behind are still quite small. In fact, Fang Yan had other considerations. It would take little effort for these two ships to be converted into transport and supply ships, and it would not be long before there was a critical time when they needed to play a role.

In addition, Fang Yan's merchant ship list also has 10 candidates, including many big guys like "Cormorant" and "Penguin" of nearly 20,000 tons. But their speed is even more impressive, and the 16 knots are rare. Out of consideration for saving manpower and material resources, and being responsible for the lives of naval officers and soldiers, it is even more unlikely that Fang Yan will choose them to enter the front line of the navy to enrich their combat strength. However, Fang Yan finally picked 2 ships and prepared to let them carry out a full range of modifications of the hangar, flight deck, and bridge. They are a training platform built by Fang Yan to train pilots. Although the length of the flight deck that was finally built cannot be compared with that of a regular aircraft carrier, the probability of an accident for pilots can still be controlled to a very low extent by virtue of the insurance of the beveled deck.

In the next few days, Fang Yan was so busy that he barely touched the ground: because when a project really has to be transformed from a conceptual idea into an actual object, the complexity and complexity of it are unimaginable to laymen. Although Fang Yan, who is the general person in charge of the modification plan, does not have the ability or energy to do everything himself, even the many key matters that Horner and others report to him every day, as well as various engineering meetings, are enough to make Fang Yan tired.

After five days, half of Fang Yan's small notebook was used, which was full of things about materials, personnel, design, and construction. Fang Yan's heart was full of resentment about the hidden black attribute that Raeder used to call him as a coolie. All he wants now is to get the project up and running soon, so that he can push things off and do more meaningful work.

However, in the past few days, Fang Yan has also experienced first-hand the ability and efficiency of the German Navy in engineering organization. All the things assigned by Fang Yan will be completed or solved by the relevant personnel as soon as possible, and all the work is progressing very quickly; The entire organization is like a steam turbine with an impeller spinning rapidly, but quietly and orderly, with no loss of power. In addition, even Fang Yan, who holds the most power, is under the dual constraints of rules and regulations and supervisors, and he hardly gets any opportunity to enrich himself. This is in stark contrast to the bloated corruption of the National Socialist Party today. Fang Yan couldn't help but sigh that after only 6 years in power, the National Socialist Party has become a huge stumbling block to Germany's development! (To be continued.) )