The sumptuous dinner began. The menu, printed in Russian and German, on thick pale yellow paper with a sickle and hammer emblem on it, is full of long strings of fish, soup, game, chicken, and grilled meat. The waiters began to serve the food, and they were cute looking girls, jumping around with bottles of wine and vodka to pour the glasses of the big guys.

Stalin's new wife, Nadezhda, also came to the Kremlin to accompany him, and the Stalin couple do not live in the Kremlin now, but they will soon move in.

At the dinner, Hersmann found another opportunity to talk to Stalin about aircraft carriers.

"What? Ludwig, you said you built an aircraft carrier in the shipyard in Riga? Stalin showed a look of surprise, he didn't know about such a big thing!

"It was secretly built in a large dockyard, just a small ship of 7,500 tons, and there was no flight deck yet, and it was not an aircraft carrier in the real sense."

The construction of the test aircraft carrier was kept in strict secrecy, and the entire dockyard was a military exclusion zone - it was originally a base of the Russian Navy, and the surrounding area was easy to guard. And it was not finally completed, and the flight deck was not laid, and even if it was seen, it would not be recognized as an aircraft carrier.

"We want to drive it to the Petrograd shipyard to lay the aviation deck, is that okay?"

It is always a trouble to hang around in the Gulf of Riga and let the British see it, and there is no problem in driving to the territory of the Soviet Union, who can control the Soviet Red Navy to build an aircraft carrier?

Moreover, Hersman really wanted to use this "test" ship to fool the Soviets into building an aircraft carrier -- he regarded US imperialism as the number one enemy and John Bull as the No. 2 villain boss. To defeat them, aircraft carriers are a must-have.

The construction of aircraft carriers is a gradual accumulation process, and the 7,500-ton test ship is easy to do, and the United States initially found a coal carrier to lay wooden planks to make do with aircraft carriers. But in the future, it will not be easy to build an aircraft carrier that can truly dominate the ocean. This "test" ship is only the beginning, and to continue its development, it can only be launched in Soviet shipyards.

"Drive to Leningrad...... Do you want to work with us on aircraft carriers? Stalin quickly guessed what Hersmann had in mind.

"Yes," Hersman took a sip of wine, "and this should be the starting point for full-fledged military cooperation between our two sides." ”

"Comprehensive military cooperation?"

Historically, Soviet-German military cooperation also began in 1924. Germany used the territory of the USSR to train pilots and mechanized units, laying the initial foundations for the future German military revival.

And in this time and space, because Germany had the Baltic Republic, a satellite state that was not bound by the Treaty of Versailles, it was not very dependent on Soviet-German military cooperation. Now the Baltic Defense Forces have built up aviation and tank units, which are small in size, but enough to study tactics and test secret weapons.

However, it is difficult for a big guy like an aircraft carrier to rely on the shell of the Baltic to develop it. In Hersmann's plan, the Soviet Union, Italy, and Japan were all partners to consider.

But if you want to cooperate with Italy and Japan, you must have something in your own hands, otherwise it will be difficult to negotiate the price.

"But the USSR Navy is not the focus of development at the moment, and aircraft carriers are ...... for us"

Stalin seemed to be at a dilemma, and he now preferred German submarines to aircraft carriers, which could be used against Japan, which the Soviets had seen as a major threat after the Siberian intervention.

"It doesn't cost much," Hirschman waved his hand, "and our test ship cost only more than 2 million Baltic marks." If the USSR was interested, we could cooperate in the construction of a medium aircraft carrier of 15000 tons at the Seva Potor shipyard.

If it is a Pacific type deployed in Vladivostok -- the Pacific Ocean has small winds and waves, and the requirements for the hull are relatively low, so it is relatively economical -- including research and development costs, it is enough to have more than 40 million Baltic marks...... About 7 million to 8 million rubles. And it's not a year, because it's a new ship, and the progress will be slow. If the design was completed in 1925, it would be nice if it could be completed in 1928, which would cost an average of 2 million rubles per year. We can afford 25% of the cost, and the aircraft carrier will belong to the USSR as a training ship after it is built, but Germany will send people on board for training. Of course, if you want to turn it into a combat ship, you will need to pay us the corresponding price. ”

1.5 million rubles a year is really not a lot of money for the current Soviet Union, and they spend at least ten times as much every year on exporting revolutions, and the question is whether it is worth it.

"Our naval experts believe that four such aircraft carriers, if deployed in Vladivostok, would pose a major threat to Japanese imperialism," Hersman added. If we combine it with 300 long-range four-engine bombers with a combat radius of more than 1,000 kilometers, the situation of the Soviet Union in the Far East will be completely changed -- from passive defense to active offensive. ”

Hersman paused for a moment and looked at Stalin, "This is more effective than deploying one or two hundred submarines...... Of course, we can also supply the USSR with submarine-related technology, and this is not a problem. ”

Historically, the Soviet Union had a powerful submarine force before World War II, but it did little to no avail. Because Germany did not have sea supremacy, nor did it have long sea transport routes. The war between the Soviet Union and Japan did not break out until the end of World War II, and it was won within a few days.

And if the Soviet Union could deploy a Pacific Fleet with four 15,000-ton aircraft carriers (similar to Japan's Soryu-class) as the core in Vladivostok in the Far East by September 1931, supplemented by 300 "enhanced" TB-3 heavy bombers. Then the situation in the Far East will change significantly......

"The bases of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Sasebo and Kure Gungang, the most important cities in Japan, Tokyo and Osaka, will all be under the threat of bombers and fighters taking off from Vladivostok and aircraft carriers!"

"Three hundred long-range four-engine bombers with a combat radius of more than 1000 km?" Stalin's eyebrows were slightly raised, apparently he was more interested in such aircraft. "Are you going to develop such an aircraft?"

"Not now, we have to wait for BMW or Siemens to develop a more powerful engine based on the Type 101...... To meet the needs of a heavy long-range bomber, the power of a single engine must exceed at least 900 horsepower. ”

Hersman turned his glass slightly, "When we have this kind of engine, we will transfer technology like the Soviet Union, and at the same time we will develop a four-engine heavy bomber together...... As long as our two countries can have 500 such aircraft, we will be able to effectively deter imperialist wars of aggression. ”

"Heavy bombers can be developed together, and we also need a 900-horsepower engine." Stalin smiled and said, "Aircraft carriers can be messed around together, we can afford 8 million rubles, you don't have to pay a quarter." However, we also need cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers when we have aircraft carriers. ”

This means that Germany, together with the USSR, was to develop or supply (technically) at least one heavy bomber, a 900-horsepower air-cooled engine, a 15,000-ton aircraft carrier, a cruiser, a destroyer, several carrier-based aircraft and, of course, the technology for submarines......

"It's not a problem," Hersman said at once, "that we can jointly develop new aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and carrier-based aircraft, and Germany can transfer new aircraft engines and submarine technology to the Soviet Union." When I returned to Germany, I immediately arranged negotiations on comprehensive military cooperation. ”

"Absolutely, Ludwig." Stalin raised his glass and touched it with Hersmann's, "I wish our two countries a happy cooperation." ”

"Happy cooperation."

As the two clinked glasses, a Stalinist secretary walked in briskly from outside the dining room, leaned over and whispered a few words in the ear of the future great leader.

Stalin waved at the man, and then said to Hersmann: "Ludwig, Comrade Lenin has woken up...... It's time for the final goodbye tonight, so let's go first. ”

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