"That is, if we had not consolidated the port, it would have been better for us to prepare a large number of camouflaged assault ships than with regular warships? Would it be better if we used a high-speed cruise ship or other large, high-speed ship to break the relationship? Wilhelm II asked. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

"Your Majesty, you are letting a knight in heavy armor perform a flying cornice." The prince thought for a moment, and said in what he thought was a tactful word. The performance of a large cruise ship is really good, but the problem is that this thing is the same as a light cruiser, it is too eye-catching, although it is not a battleship, but it does not have the concealment of camouflaging assault ships, and this thing has a fatal problem, that is, it is too wasteful of fuel. It's fast, but after a long voyage, you're not as fast as a regular light cruiser. (Generally speaking, special ones don't count.) ）

For an assault ship, a month at sea is not considered a long voyage, and dozens of days or hundreds of days are just commonplace, so endurance is more important than speed at this time. Anyway, after encountering the light cruiser and being discovered, it couldn't run ....... But if you want to talk about endurance, take the Wolf attack ship as an example, if this cargo sails at an economic speed of 8 knots per hour, it only consumes 35 tons of coal a day, but the coal loading capacity of this cargo can reach up to 6,000 tons, and theoretically the range of this ship can reach 23,000 nautical miles! This endurance can be described as terrifying!

In fact, the voyage of the ship was truly amazing, the cargo set off from the port of Kiel, crossed the North Sea, then traveled all the way south to the vicinity of Cape Town, then to Madagascar, and finally to India, and even laid mines in the port of Mumbai!

"But I personally feel that camouflage attack ships are not as good as submarines in breaking diplomatic relations, after all, submarines can freely enter and exit the North Sea, camouflage attack ships may be more difficult, and they need more personnel." Admiral Ball thought for a moment and said.

"There is some truth to what you say, but it is still a bit one-sided." His Highness thought for a moment and said. "Compared with submarines, camouflage attack ships still have many advantages, especially the ability to do many things that submarines can't do."

"First of all, the mine-laying ability of camouflaged attack ships is much higher than that of submarines, and a merchant ship of more than 5,000 tons can hold more than 400 mines. And how much can a submarine carry? Secondly, camouflaged raiders can also provide submarines with supplies, such as fuel and food. Cooperate with submarines in combat. Thirdly, camouflaged assault ships can also serve as the eyes and ears of submarines, hidden identities and high-power radios on board can indicate targets for submarines, and of course, the biggest and most important benefit is that these camouflaged assault ships sailing at sea can contain a large number of British forces! Reduce the pressure on the submarine. The prince said.

Because the range and sustained combat capability of camouflage attack ships are too strong, no one will let these camouflage attack ships go on a killing spree at sea, and whether they can be caught is a matter of ability, but whether they can be caught is a matter of attitude. It was obviously a drain to go around the world in search of an assault ship that was no different from a merchant ship, and the decision to carry out these tasks could not have been a destroyer, nor could it be an auxiliary cruiser with poor firepower. Otherwise, if you run into it, it's not certain who will fight whom!

For example, the Wolf, there are 7 150mm guns, and the guns of this class are already on the same level as light cruisers, and ordinary auxiliary cruisers and destroyers really can't do it! Therefore, it is very possible for an attack ship to involve a dozen or even dozens of ships to spread across the ocean, and if there is no United States, it is really a bit difficult for the British to take care of the suppression of the German Navy and the protection of the sea transportation lines at the same time.

According to the prince's plan, before the war, the German Navy will prepare two kinds of camouflage attack ships, the first camouflage attack ship is a simple civilian ship, this kind of thing is consumables, needless to say, and the other is a quasi-camouflage attack ship that has been strengthened at the time of design, first of all, the speed of this kind of ship will be relatively fast, and the protection will be better, at least the power compartment and ammunition depot must have some protection, and artillery, mines or torpedoes should be reserved so that they can be quickly refitted. It is also necessary to install various equipment such as cranes, diesel tanks, etc., which can help other ships.

In wartime, this high-configuration raid ship is a very versatile camouflage raid ship with weapons, fuel, and various auxiliary equipment. It can be used to break up diplomatic relations at sea alone, to provide supplies to submarines or to indicate targets, and even to cooperate with submarine operations, such as attacking auxiliary cruisers or destroyers escorting convoys to clear the way for submarine hunting. You can also lay mines in some ports, or disguise yourself as a neutral merchant ship to make a fuss in the other side's unprotected civilian ports.

"Before the war, I hope that the number of our high-configuration reserve attack ships will reach about 30, and before the war breaks out, we can say that five or six attack ships can be sent out at the same time." The prince concluded.

"We can even put some old guns on a camouflaged ship and sail to the open sea when there is a threat of war, and then contact those ships that are carrying out civilian voyages by radio, and equip these ships directly at sea with weapons and assign personnel, so that at the first time, our broken ships can appear on the sea transportation lines of the British!" His Highness added again.

This also has a historical prototype, for example, the super cruise ship Crown Prince Wilhelm in World War 1 once received 2 88mm guns and 290 shells and some light weapons from the light cruiser Karlsruhe and changed it into an assault ship. What's even more unexpected is that this temporarily improved camouflage attack ship also resurrected the 8,529-ton steamer Corentina near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and found that there were two 120mm guns in the rear of the ship, but unfortunately there was no ammunition, and then the Germans put these two guns without ammunition on their own ships.

In the end, the ship ran to the United States after 251 days of cruising the ocean, intercepting 15 ships and sinking 14 ships, with a total of 58,201 tons. Then it was buckled. As can be seen from this example, there is no problem for these cruise ships to be equipped with 120mm class guns at sea. And it is true that it can achieve a lot of results, as long as the luck is not particularly unlucky, at least it can pay off!

"You have a good idea, go according to your plan, and besides, I have some things here, you can go back and see." The meeting went smoothly, and at the end of the meeting, Wilhelm II personally gave the prince something, which surprised the prince a little.

The third is more present~~~! Ask for subscription, ask for tips~~~! (To be continued.) )