The good days of the Navy have finally come, and the old and strong Marshal Raeder has finally waited for a turnaround after experiencing hope, loss, hesitation, and helplessness.

At the strategic meeting, the Führer, under pressure from Göring, not only approved the continuation of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier but also authorized the Navy to establish an independent air force, although only 400 aircraft were opened and the core top brass were all transferred from the Air Force, but the old marshal believed that this was only the beginning. As long as the Navy quickly demonstrates the ability to meet expectations, the Führer will not skimp on aircraft and establishment, and the aircraft carrier is by no means limited to Zeppelin. Göring was branded as the head of the traitorous group, and the old marshal was the first to stand up and cheer for the Führer, because no one was as afflicted by Göring as he was on the plane issue.

There have always been rumors that the Führer was dissatisfied with the old marshal who advocated the replenishment of the surface fleet, and once planned to abolish all shipbuilding tasks and turn to submarines, and even prepared to make Dönitz his successor, but judging from the current situation, this is obviously nonsense: the Air Force was ordered to transfer more than 500,000 surplus personnel to support the Army, and Marshal Keitel of the High Command originally wanted to do the same in the naval field, but was explicitly blocked by the Führer. ALTHOUGH THE FÜHRER'S INSISTENCE ON CANCELING THE 8 150MM NAVAL GUNS ON THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER MADE CONSERVATIVES A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE, REDDER WAS NOT A FIGURE WHO COULD EAT THE ANCIENTS, AND THE RESULTS ON THE PACIFIC THEATER SHOWED THAT IT WAS REALLY USELESS FOR THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER TO INSTALL MEDIUM AND LARGE-CALIBER NAVAL GUNS. BESIDES, THE 150MM CALIBER NAVAL GUNS ARE AT BEST THE FIREPOWER OF DESTROYERS (THE DESTROYERS OF THE THIRD REICH EMPHASIZE THE FIREPOWER OF A SINGLE SHIP, AND THE 3000-TON Z SERIES DESTROYER NAVAL GUNS ALL USE 150MM CALIBER, WHILE THE GUNS OF THE BRITISH AND AMERICAN DESTROYERS OF THE SAME CLASS ARE USUALLY 127MM OR 105MM), WHICH MAY STILL BE USEFUL FOR DEALING WITH MERCHANT SHIPS, BUT IF YOU USE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS TO DEAL WITH MERCHANT SHIPS, REDDER THINKS IT IS TOO CHEAP. WHAT'S EVEN WORSE IS THAT THE FÜHRER ORDERED THE COMPLETION OF THE ZEPPELIN AS A WHOLE WITHIN HALF A YEAR, AND THE 8 150MM NAVAL GUNS HAVE NOT YET BEEN PRODUCED, SO NATURALLY THEY CAN'T CATCH UP.

In addition, there are also people in the Navy who have proposed that since the construction of the Zeppelin aircraft carrier can continue, whether the heavy cruiser "Seydlitz" (Prinz Eugen-class), which has been completed by nearly 95%, can continue to be built as originally planned, instead of rotting in the shipyard and preparing to be converted into an aircraft carrier, as it is now. Theoretically, Seydlitz could be put into service as long as he installed an aircraft catapult, radar, and some fire control devices, but judging from the Führer's plan in the early stage, this heavy cruiser was scheduled to be transformed into an auxiliary aircraft carrier "Weser." In addition to this transformation task, there were two important tasks: the transformation of the "Europa" merchant ship into an auxiliary aircraft carrier No. 1 and the transformation of the French light cruiser de Grasse, which had been captured by Germany earlier, into an auxiliary aircraft carrier No. 2. It seems that in the mind of the Führer, the task of building aircraft carriers is the overriding priority.

Therefore, on the way to the Prime Minister's Palace, the old marshal, who was not good at words, pondered over and over again how to speak when he met with the Führer, and what kind of language he should use to fully express his will without arousing the Führer's disgust -- he had heard that the Führer had been in a bad mood lately, and was very annoyed by the affairs of the treasonous group.

Hoffman was a little surprised by Raeder's surprise visit, and in the past two days he had been taking stock of the Third Reich's oversized weapons development program, and he had not taken care of the navy for the time being. After hearing this, he first frowned, and then smiled dumbly. Raeder couldn't understand Hoffman's attitude, and his nervousness went up and down as Hoffman's expression changed, and he didn't even have time to pay attention to the coffee that Madame Jung had carefully prepared.

"Dear marshal, this is ridiculous...... "Hoffman said, waving his hand, he is now fully Führer, "the Sedritz is completed as soon as possible as a heavy cruiser according to the original design, and not comically ready to be converted into an aircraft carrier, so that a heavy cruiser that is almost completed can be disarmed and rebuilt, and only the rigid-minded OKM (High Command of the Navy) design bureau can think of it." ”

Reddell's heart was overjoyed, and the nervous mood just now suddenly disappeared without a trace, and the Führer scolded OKM It doesn't matter, as long as he agrees to his plan.

"I will order Speer to include Sedlitz in the priority plan, requiring all outfitting to be completed within a month and combat effectiveness in three months, right." Hoffman seemed to remember something, and added, "If possible, I would recommend improving the oil capacity and boiler system of the Seydlitz to make them more reliable—I'm fed up with Prince Eugen's accident-ridden power compartment, and I don't want to make the same mistake with Seydlitz." Last time, if it wasn't for Prince Eugen's temporary accident, the Bismarck would have had one more escort ship, and the British would never have sunk him so easily. ”

Raeder had originally come with the attitude of trying his luck, but he did not expect to get a better answer from the Führer than he imagined - not only did he also give Sedlitz the highest priority, but he could also use it to optimize the power system, and with this order, he believed that Speer would provide enough materials and personnel to complete the project, and there would be no problems in serving for three months.

Hoffman originally wanted to delay the strategic arrangement of the Navy for a while, but since Raeder was here, he continued the topic just now, "I heard that the Navy is still continuing the design of H-class battleships, and the scheme has been developed from H-40A, H-40B to H-41, H-42? ”

"That's true." Raeder nodded, "OKM is based on the experience of the Bismarck being sunk by British aircraft, and taking into account the changes in the forces of the United States participating in the war, the design has strengthened the anti-aircraft firepower and increased the tonnage, the new design we call the H-43, and only one-third of the design has been completed." ”

"The development of all battleships and their subsequent design were to be stopped." "The encounter with the Bismarck and the actions taken by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor have clearly taught us that there is no prospect of survival for battleships in the face of overwhelming enemy air power, and that Germany will no longer need battleships in the future." ”

The Führer has changed sex? Isn't he a big fan of giant ship artillery, and his interest has shifted to aircraft carriers so quickly? Raeder opened his mouth, instinctively trying to defend himself, only to realize that it was futile.

"Aircraft carriers must be built, and it is not a pity that the Peter Straser was dismantled, compared with the use of aircraft carriers of the same class in the United States and Japan, the Count Zeppelin has always been on the low side, which is also something that must be improved. The ideal aircraft carrier in my mind should be a capital ship with a displacement of about 40,000 tons, more than 80 aircraft, a speed of 33 knots, and a certain amount of armor and survivability. In addition, cruisers and destroyers should be redesigned, they should be important members of the aircraft carrier formation, and the focus should be on the defense of air and submarine, and the sea attack force is already in excess in my opinion, and I hope that the Navy Design Bureau can put its main energy on this. ”

"Führer, do you mean that the Navy can create new surface ships?" The old marshal couldn't hold back his joyful look, his eyes sparkled, and even the corners of his mouth began to curl.

"Build! Why not build? Hoffman's expression was firm, "The army alone can't win the war, can the armored division still swim across the English Channel on its own?" Submarines naturally need to be built, and surface ships are also indispensable. ”

It was supposed to be a full harvest, but Hoffman's last sentence made the old marshal a little suspicious: "After a while, I will inspect the navy and discuss and adjust the next stage of the combat strategy, and I hope that you and General Dönitz can make corresponding preparations." ”

What does that mean? When shaking hands with Hoffman and saying goodbye, the old marshal's heart began to churn: the Führer was well aware of the weakness of the power system of the Prinz Eugen class, and his instructions for replacing the boilers and strengthening the power system were very appropriate, and he also hit the nail on the head with the conclusion that the aircraft carrier did not need large-caliber naval guns and the subsequent design of the frozen battleship, which showed that he was not a layman to the Navy. Thinking of the story that has been rumored inside the base camp, now Raeder has to worry that the Führer has concurrently served as the commander-in-chief of the army and the air force, and the next step should not be to prepare to serve as the commander-in-chief of the navy, right?

When he came, he was full of thoughts, and when he returned, he was still full of thoughts, and Raeder didn't know how he had stepped out of the door of the Prime Minister's Palace......