"What, the British blew up the Pope?"

U.S. President Roosevelt only received the news of the death of Pope Pius XII in the bombing of British planes on the night of February 16, U.S. time. www.biquge.info In addition to being surprised, Roosevelt also secretly screamed a fluke. If the British plane had sent the Pope to God a few months before the vote in the US election, then Catholic voters might have voted for Wilkee Republicans.

"So, the strategic bombing of the British had a good effect?" President Roosevelt asked.

Although Roosevelt was a Protestant, he believed there was some subtle connection between the Pope and Jesus. Therefore, the Pope is blessed by Jesus, and his luck is not too bad. If even his old man had been blown up to heaven by British bombs, the loss of the city of Rome would have been severe!

The death of the Pope is of course a bad thing, and it will contribute to a great deal of ill will be felt against Britain in countries that believe in Catholicism.

But as long as the bombing effect is good enough, it can still deter these useless Catholic countries from entering the war.

Admiral Marshall replied with a frown: "Actually, the loss of the city of Rome was not serious...... Some two to three hundred buildings were damaged in the bombardment, and the number of human losses was in the hundreds. ”

"Just a few hundred people were killed? Too little, right? Roosevelt felt a little incredulous.

Rome is a large city with a population of millions, and hundreds of people were killed in the bombing, and one of them was an ecumenical patriarch! God bless?

"It's so unfortunate," Roosevelt said when he felt he had said the wrong thing, "and the U.S. government must condemn all the atrocities that kill innocents indiscriminately in war!" ”

If the British killed thousands or tens of thousands of Italians in one day, one of whom was the Pope, it would undoubtedly be a great victory. Both France and Spain were frightened and did not dare to join the German side in the war.

But if only a few hundred civilians and one pope were killed, it would be an indiscriminate atrocity that must be condemned.

"Mr. President, should we at the same time condemn the German atrocities against unarmed commercial vessels in the Atlantic?" Secretary of State Hull made a suggestion. The board cannot be slapped only on the ass of the British, otherwise there will be less sympathy for Britain within the United States.

After a pause, he added: "Also, is there a need to suspend the transfer of heavy bombers like the B-17 to the British?" ”

Roosevelt looked at Marshall, and Admiral Marshall deliberated and said, "The B-17 did not perform as well as we thought in the first battle...... During the day on the 15th, 18 B-17s broke through over Rome from an altitude of 9,200 meters, effectively avoiding ground anti-aircraft fire, but they were attacked by 12 Fokker Zeros, six of which were shot down. ”

"Didn't you say that the high-altitude performance of the Fokker Zero was not good?" Roosevelt asked, puzzled.

Marshall replied: "President, the Germans apparently noticed this problem as well, and therefore developed the Fokker Zero, which could be used at high altitudes. So it seems that the B-17 is more dangerous to make a sortie during the day. ”

In fact, the Fokker Zero C-3 fighter equipped with a new engine is still an engine positioned at low and medium altitudes. It's just that its high-altitude performance is improved by the use of superchargers, and at the same time, it can also temporarily and significantly improve the engine performance by "taking drugs", so that it can achieve a short but satisfactory speed at an altitude of 10,000 meters.

However, the "major victory" achieved during the day on the 15th was mainly due to a low-level mistake made by the British ground crew (this mistake has been made in history), so that the machine gun of the B-17 was frozen and could not fire, and of course it died an ugly death after being beaten and not fighting back.

"Then let's stop supplying Britain with aircraft for strategic bombing for the time being." Roosevelt sighed.

If the B-17 is really powerful, he doesn't mind resisting the pressure of the Catholic forces at home and continuing to hand over this kind of aircraft to the British. After all, the United States is not a Catholic-dominated country, and most of the people believe in Protestantism.

But now that such aircraft met a nemesis in Italy and could not be dispatched during the day, then there was no need to supply it to the British. For night bombing, it is enough to have the British's own Wellington bombers and Lancaster bombers, and there is no need for the United States to be the big villain.

"President, due to the unexpected death of the Pope, the Holy See must elect a new Pope." Harry. Hopkins interjected with a frown, "And the new pope is likely to lose his neutrality!" ”

The Ecumenical Church has never had any political neutrality to speak of, and Pius XII, who has just been destroyed by an "artificial intelligence" British bomb, is a pro-British and American pope. After his death, the Holy See will naturally elect a new pope, and the results of the election are likely to be unfavorable to Britain and the United States.

Although the influence of the pope of the Ecumenical Church in the United States is not very large, the backyard of the United States in Latin America is all Catholic countries. The Church there is theoretically subordinate to the Vatican, and if the Church changes its stance in favor of Germany and Italy, it will be difficult for the pro-American forces in Latin American countries to suppress the pro-German forces.

And it is difficult for the United States to play a decisive role in the election of the pope of the Catholic Church. I'm afraid it won't be long before America's backyard will be too peaceful.

Thinking of the big trouble caused by one of the British bombs, President Roosevelt's brow was already tightening.

……

On 16 February, the whole of Rome was immersed in a state of sorrow and anger. The National Fascist Party and the Vatican Holy See stood together in a rare place, with black-shirted fascists paraded through the streets with clergy in legal robes, holding signs condemning British atrocities. One moment sang the hymn of Catholicism, the other sang the song of Italian fascism.

The people soon gathered in Piazza Venezia, and Mussolini, dressed in military uniform, stood on the balcony of the Venetian Palace and began to make a gushing speech, scolding the eighteenth generation of British Prime Minister Churchill's ancestors, and vowing to blow up London, and at the end of the speech, he gave a pretentious order for the German and Italian armies in the Mediterranean to launch an immediate attack against the vile and brutal British invaders from the sea, land and air.

And while Mussolini was shouting for revenge for a pope he hated so much, Isoroku Yamamoto and Kuroshima Kameto were strolling around a heavily guarded platform at Rome's central train station.

Thanks to the British bomb that killed the Pope, the Kuroshima Kamemen and several elite staff officers of the Japanese Navy were about to leave Rome for the port of Taranto. Because the Italian fleet will depart in the early hours of tomorrow morning to shell the British troops in Tubruk.

Since Japan was an ally of Germany and Italy, Kuroshima Kameto was able to board the Veneto, the flagship of the Italian fleet, and observe the naval battle up close.

But now Yamamoto and Kuroshima are not interested in the upcoming naval battle, and the two of them are discussing the idea proposed by Hersmann last night of a super-battleship that concentrates Germany, Japan, Italy, and France, and defeats the U.S. Navy before a large number of U.S. super-battleships enter service.

"2 Hindenburg-class, 2 Bismarck-class, 4 Veneto-class, 2 Richelieu-class plus our 2 Yamato-class...... There are a total of 10 super battleships! Kuroshima Kametoshi said with a smile, "At that time, the United States will have up to 8 super battleships, and we seem to have a good chance of winning!" ”

Hersman's plan was to get the United States in trouble in the winter of 1942, when the United States had about four South Dakota-class, three Colorado-class, and up to one Iowa-class.

"But the key is 2 Yamato-class!" Yamamoto Fifty-six said lightly, "Without these two Yamato-class, it would not work by relying on the eight super battleships of Germany, Italy and France." And...... After the fall of Britain on its home turf, it is possible that several super-battleships will flee to Canada. So to ensure victory, 2 Yamato-class ships are indispensable. ”

Kuroshima Kameto understood what Yamamoto Fifty-six meant by his words, the Yamato class was too precious, it was the treasure of Japan, how could it be sent to the Atlantic Ocean casually? Who's to blame if it breaks?

"But Marshal Hersman promised to provide most of the special steel ......needed for the 110 and 111 ships," said Kuroshima Kameto, "so that the construction of the 110 and 111 ships would not be troubled by a lack of materials." ”

The 110 and 111 ships were the No. 3 and No. 4 ships of the Yamato class, which started construction after the launch of the Yamato and Musashi. However, due to the serious shortage of special steel due to Japan's all-out preparations for war in 1940, the construction of the 110 and 111 ships has been difficult, and it seems that it will be difficult to complete the project on time.

Yamamoto Fifty-six smiled bitterly when he heard this, "But that's 'Yamato' and 'Musashi'!" Do you think we can really send them to Europe? ”

"But Marshal Hersman is willing to send four large cruise ships converted into aircraft carriers to the Pacific," said the Black Island Turtleman, "and there will be a full complement of carrier-based aircraft and pilots!" ”

The four cruise ship converted motherships are of course precious to Japan, but they can still be taken out by gritting their teeth, but it is difficult for the carrier-based aircraft pilots on the mothership to get them. 18 months is enough to convert a cruise ship into a mothership, and it takes at least 3 years to train a carrier-based aircraft pilot in accordance with strict requirements! And the kind of ace pilots sent by Germany who are really swords and guns may not be able to train them even after 10 years.

According to Hersman's promise, each of the four converted motherships would be accompanied by a carrier-based aircraft group of 60 "commonly used aircraft" (referring to the combat establishment...... That's 240 elite pilots (pilots), and that's a formidable force. And now the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy has more than 400 carrier-based aircraft pilots.

Yamamoto Fifty-six still shook his head, "Kuroshima-kun, this matter is not as easy as you think. At least I, the commander, can't call the shots, and I'll wait until we see the situation. (To be continued.) )