Chapter 989: Anglo-American Efforts
At the time of the start of the construction of the German Navy's 'Deutsche class' aircraft carrier, almost at the same time, on the other side of the ocean, Baltimore, the shipyard of the US Navy. A groundbreaking ceremony was also held for a warship.
U.S. President Woodrow? Wilson, Secretary of the Navy Daniels, Chief of Naval Operations William? Admiral Benson, Commander of the Atlantic Fleet, Henry? Admiral Mayo and a series of senior U.S. Navy generals gathered at the shipyard. In addition to the Americans, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, British Admiral Jellicoe, and a number of senior admirals of the British Navy were also present at the shipyard.
This is because the construction of this warship, which is about to begin, was jointly developed by Britain and the United States.
The warship that is about to start construction is an aircraft carrier jointly developed by Britain and the United States. At a time when the German Navy has made amazing achievements in the field of aircraft carriers and has begun to build aircraft carriers in large quantities, Britain and the United States are not idle, and they are also struggling to catch up with Germany's footsteps. It's just that because they started late and started from a low start, their progress was slow. But now, they are finally about to achieve a breakthrough of zero.
"Gentlemen, the construction of our first aircraft carrier, the USS Langley, is about to begin. Although, compared to our enemies, we are already far behind. But, thanks to the efforts of us and our British allies, we were struggling to catch up with the Germans. I believe that soon we will be able to catch up with Germany and surpass theirs. Our enemy, very strong, has the most powerful navy and land in the world, as well as the air force. They also have the largest colony in the world. To defeat them, it will be a difficult and winding road. However, I firmly believe that the American Republic and the British Empire, in full unity, will have no problem defeating Germany. At the very least, our industrial output is more than that of Germany. It will take a lot of time for them to surpass us in this area. The final victory must be ours! "Woodrow? President Wilson preached.
Since the last world war, the United States has been suffering from deflated and humiliated again and again in the confrontation with Germany. This not only made the US military very embarrassed to arrive, but even ordinary Americans were about to lose confidence. Woodrow? President Wilson knew that if this continued, they would not have the courage to continue their confrontation with Germany. This is undoubtedly very unfavorable for the United States.
Now the United States is also involuntarily self-conscious. Germany already sees the United States as its greatest potential adversary to threaten its hegemony. Therefore, it is not that the United States does not want to confront Germany, and Germany will give up its hostility to them. In order to ensure the stability of its hegemony, Germany will inevitably do everything possible to suppress the United States until the United States is completely out of threat. Unless the United States is divided and becomes a small country. Otherwise, Germany would not have stopped suppressing them. As long as the United States does not want that, it must fight back.
Is it Woodrow? President Wilson, as well as other senior U.S. government and military officials, certainly don't want to see that outcome. Therefore, they can only grit their teeth and strive to develop the US military strength so that the United States can have a slight chance of winning in future wars.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was also smiling. Although, the first aircraft carrier "Langley", after completion, will belong to the US Navy sequence. However, soon the construction of the British Navy's own aircraft carriers will also begin. The materials needed were provided by the United States, and Britain was able to obtain them from the United States with very little money. In this way, they will be able to build their own aircraft carriers with minimal cost. This is undoubtedly a great thing for the British government, which has lost its homeland and is only surviving on Canada. Of course, the price they pay for this is that all kinds of high and new technologies must be shared with the Americans.
In the future, even if they can defeat Germany and win the war, the scientific and technological strength of the United States will be greatly improved and it will become a real hegemon. It is almost impossible for Britain to regain its supremacy.
Woodrow? After President Wilson's speech, the first keel of the USS Langley was placed on the slipway.
In the absence of experience, the progress of the construction of the USS Langley will be slow. It is expected to take more than three years to be ready for service. And, it will be an experimental aircraft carrier. The United States and Great Britain will accumulate experience in the construction and use of aircraft carriers, as well as training in the take-off and landing and application of carrier-based aircraft.
The USS Langley aircraft carrier, with a full load displacement of less than 20,000 tons, can only carry 36 carrier-based aircraft. Less than the first class aircraft carrier, the 'Pioneer', built by the German Navy a few years ago. In addition, the maximum speed of the aircraft carrier 'Langley' is only 15.5 knots, and the hangar is also open. It looks very simple.
However, this is, after all, the first aircraft carrier built by the United States and Great Britain, and although it is rudimentary and poor, it has achieved zero breakthroughs.
The cooperation between the United Kingdom and the United States is now completely all-encompassing. Cooperation is also taking place not only on naval aircraft carriers, but also on capital ships and other warships. The capital ships being built by the United States, both in terms of power and main guns, use a lot of British technology. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the United States to improve its warship construction capacity so quickly.
On the army side, the M1 tank, a first-generation tank jointly developed by Britain and the United States, has also begun testing. Once the test is passed, both countries will make separate purchases. Of course, the deep-pocketed United States will purchase more to strengthen the strength of the US Army. Britain will buy a little less, after all, the performance of the M1 tank is still relatively rudimentary from the current point of view, and it is not even comparable to the No. 1 tank equipped by the German Army.
On the Air Force's side, the fighter codenamed P-17 has also begun to fly test. This is a new fighter jointly developed by Britain and the United States. Although it uses double-layer wings and has a maximum speed of only 180 kilometers, this is much better than the previous British aircraft. Even if it is not as advanced as Germany's advanced fighters, it is a great improvement. With the continuous efforts of British and American engineers, they will also develop more advanced aircraft types so that the air forces of the two countries can have more powerful combat effectiveness.