The result of the investigation by the investigation committee was that a large number of electrical welding were used in the newly built ships of the Navy, which was the main cause of the accident. In addition, the Fourth Fleet encountered huge waves that had not been encountered before. Generally speaking, a wave-height-to-wavelength ratio of 1/20 is considered a rare wave, but according to the descriptions of the ships of the Fourth Fleet, the ratio of wave height to wavelength in the event of Typhoon No. 2 reached 1/10, and the sea conditions far exceeded the level that the ships were designed to handle.

After the "Fourth Fleet Incident," the Navy carried out a second major refit of all its warships, the main content of which was to increase the intensity, and in addition, some of the armaments were removed from the small ships in order to increase the number of warships. After this incident, the newly built and renovated warships have greatly improved their stability and structural strength, and their restoration in bad sea conditions has also been greatly improved.

In addition, the "Fourth Fleet Incident" exposed the shortcomings of the Pacific meteorological and typhoon research. Since then, he has set up many meteorological observation stations on the islands of the western Pacific Ocean and dispatched meteorological observation ships to understand the structure of typhoons and acquire knowledge of how to deal with them. The "Fourth Fleet Incident" stimulated the development of meteorology in the future, and it can be regarded as a harvest in misfortune.

The negative impact of the "Fourth Fleet Incident" was that the Navy lost trust in welding technology. After the incident, Dr. Hiraga, a conservative shipbuilding expert, took control of the shipbuilding department of the Ship Administration Headquarters, and Hiraga ordered the abolition of electric welding on all newly built ships and replaced them with traditional riveting. Hiraga has always seemed to have a special distrust of new technologies, and under his leadership, the design of warships has become more conservative.

After learning of Hiraga's practice, Fujimoto Kikuo was furious, and he angrily pointed out that this practice of choking on food is a retrogression in shipbuilding technology, and will make the Saimoto Navy widen the gap with the US and British navies in the future. But at this time, because of these two accidents, he has been removed from all positions, and he no longer has the strength to exert influence on the shipmaster's headquarters.

Seeing that Hiraga was determined to go his own way, Fujimoto Kikuo knew that it was useless to say anything more, so he sighed and stopped talking, but silently watched the staff pack up his drawings and materials.

A breeze blew in from the window, and a design sketch floated up from the table, and under the blowing of the breeze, it actually fell to the feet of Fujimoto Kikuo, who leaned over and picked up the drawing, and when his eyes fell on the familiar line drawing on the drawing, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

At the mark of this drawing, the eye-catching words "Super Battleship" are prominently written.

Hiraga stepped forward and snatched the blueprint from Fujimoto Kikuo, and when he saw the giant battleship with quadruple main guns arranged in a pyramid pattern, he couldn't help but sneer contemptuously.

This picture is a design of the "Super Battleship" designed by Kikuo Fujimoto, which has been rejected.

In its concept of "future operations," the Navy once envisaged building a first-class "super battleship" equipped with a 510-mm main gun as the main surprise attack force in a decisive battle against the United States at sea. This idea was first conceived in 1930, and by 1933, the Naval Ship Administration Headquarters had the idea of "building a giant battleship with a width greater than the Panama Canal locks." On October 21, 1933, Ishikawa Shingo Nakasa, a staff officer of the Naval Command Department, published an article entitled "A Humble View on Armament Countermeasures for the Second Phase," in which he argued that "the birth of the 'dreadnought' made all the existing battleships of that time obsolete overnight. Now, when the strength of the United States is only 70 percent of its strength, if it can build a huge warship that surpasses all the existing battleships, it will tilt the balance of naval power in favor of the United States. The Guy giant warship will exceed the capacity of the Panama Canal, and if the United States wants to build warships of the same type to engage in a naval arms race, it will have to build enough to allocate to the two oceans, which will impose an unbearable economic burden on the United States. ”

At the end of 1933, Ishikawa Shingo commissioned Edazaki Iwakishi, a confidant of Fujimoto Kikuo, the designer of the Ship Administration Headquarters, to calculate the main parameters of the giant battleship: a displacement of 50,000 tons, a speed of more than 30 knots, a main gun of about 9 20-inch guns, a defense capability of 20,000 meters to 38,000 meters to defend against existing 16-inch shells, in addition to hitting about 10 500-kilogram warhead torpedoes. According to estimates, the power of this class of "super battleships" will be 40 to 50 percent stronger than the existing "Nagato" class battleships of the Chinese Navy, China's "Republic" class battleships, the "Colorado" class battleships of the United States, and the "Nelson" class battleships of the United Kingdom. And it is capable of overwhelming the opponent in the combat effectiveness of a single ship.

On March 21, 1934, at its second meeting, the Naval Arms Limitation Research Committee studied the relevant materials, as well as the reference materials for the shipbuilding race of other countries. The Arms Limitation Research Committee was established in 1927 by Vice Admiral Kichizaburo Nomura, then Vice Admiral of the Navy, and composed of members from the Ministry of the Navy, the Military Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of the Navy, the Naval Ship Administration Headquarters, and the Naval Aviation Headquarters. After studying the matter, the committee decided to conduct a demonstration of the feasible names of the "super-battleship," including what kind of maximum caliber the ship's main guns should be used, whether other countries, especially the United States, have the ability to build warships of the same kind, and what the required budget for building the ship and the cost of maintaining it will be. Because Ben was already aware that the United States was building battleships with 16-inch guns, the caliber of the main guns of the "super battleship" must be above it.

The technical specifications of the "super battleship" proposed by Kikuo Fujimoto are 50,000 tons of standard displacement, 60,000 tons of full load displacement, 290 meters long, 38 meters wide, and 9.8 meters draft. It is armed with 12 20-inch guns, mounted in three quadruple turrets in the bow, modeled after the British "Nelson" class battleships, arranged in a pyramidal shape. In addition, it is equipped with 16 155-mm secondary guns, all of which are installed in twin turrets, 8 to 11 127-mm anti-aircraft guns, several anti-aircraft machine guns, 12 seaplanes capable of dive bombing, and 3 catapults. The thickness of the broadside armor was 16 inches, and the thickness of the armored deck was 11 inches. The "Super Battleship" will be equipped with a steam turbine with a total power of 140,000 horsepower, a speed of about 30 knots, and a fuel load of 6,000 tons.

The 20-inch caliber naval guns required for the "super battleship" greatly exceeded the current level of military technology. In 1916, the Wu Factory of the Navy once tried to produce a "36 li" (the actual caliber is 480 mm) naval gun, but due to the lack of steelmaking, casting and other technologies, there were small cracks and sand holes in the gun body. The cannon exploded in the ninth firing while conducting a firing experiment at the Kameshou Shooting Range on Kurahashi Island. Later, it was said that the technician changed the caliber to a smaller one, tried to make a 460-mm gun, and barely succeeded in the test firing while reducing the charge. In 1927, the Wu Navy Factory also faced technical difficulties in the trial production of a 410-mm naval gun with a long body (52.5 times diameter), and had to give up hastily after making rough wood for the gun body. Having learned from the past, the head of the first department of the Naval Gun Design Headquarters had to point out the technical risks faced by the production of 20-inch naval guns.

On July 5, 1934, Ezaki Iwayoshi proposed a revised design plan for the "super battleship": with a displacement of 67,000 tons, it was equipped with nine 460 mm guns, installed in three triple turrets, all concentrated in the bow of the ship; 4 x 155 mm triple secondary turrets, 4 x twin 127 mm anti-aircraft guns; 6 axles, 200,000 horsepower, speed 31 to 33 knots, 18 knots 10,000 nautical miles. The core idea of the design is to intercept the U.S. aircraft carrier battle group at a high speed of 33 to 34 knots with 2 super warships and 2 newly-built aircraft carriers as the core. In addition, there is a second option with 4 axles and a maximum speed of 28 knots.

However, the "Tomozuru Incident" and the "Fourth Fleet Incident" in 1934 forced the design of the "Super Battleship" to be terminated and re-examined. The plans of the "shipbuilding geniuses" Fujimoto Kikuo and Ezaki Iwaiyoshi were rejected, and Fukuda Keiji Daisa took over the design of the "super battleship", and Hiraga Jean, a veteran figure in the shipbuilding industry, served as the technical director. At this time, the "aviation faction" represented by Rear Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, head of the Aviation Headquarters, had keenly seen the great superiority of aircraft carriers in future naval warfare and therefore opposed the construction of two useless giant warships, but the die-hard "Battleship Party" headed by Prince Fushimi Miyahiro, Chief of the Military Command Department, Tsuneo Okaku, Minister of the Navy, and Ryozo Nakamura, Director of the Naval Administration Headquarters, rejected the idea of "fleet aviation" and built giant ships as "symbols of the spirit of the Imperial Navy" no matter what.

In October 1934, the Military Command Department sent the Ezaki design plan back to the Ship Administration Headquarters, proposing to increase the speed to about 35 knots and increase the broadside defense. The person in charge of the design pushed back the opinion of the military command on the grounds that it was "technically impossible". The Military Command Department then revised the key items of the super battleship again, believing that the combat mission of the new warship in the future will mainly be to participate in the pursuit of the enemy aircraft carrier fleet and to carry out water strike battles with the battlefleet, so it is necessary to improve the design conditions and move one of the main turrets to the stern. Finally, on December 1, 1934, under the program code name "A-140", the Ship Administration Headquarters was officially ordered to begin design work. The "super warship" was thus included in the navy's shipbuilding plan. This was the later battleship of the "Yamato" class.

As for the design of the "super battleship", Fujimoto Kikuo also has a "private design case", in this plan, the displacement of the super battleship is enlarged to 72,000 tons, the total length is 320 meters, and the main gun is 12, which is installed in the three main turrets in the bow of the ship in a quadruple way, and the ship type is similar to the "Nelson" class. Due to the size and weight of the turret, the proposal was not submitted to the Ship Administration Headquarters for discussion.

The drawing that Kihisao Fujimoto was holding in his hand just now and was taken away by Hiraga Jean was the design sketch of "Fujimoto's Private Case". This can be said to be the masterpiece of Fujimoto Kikuo's "ghost career".

Fujimoto Kikuo watched blankly as Hiraga handed over the drawings to a staff member and put them in the file bag, he took out his handkerchief, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and slowly regained his composure.

Soon, the staff had almost sorted out the drawings and materials in the room, and Hiraga Jean was about to leave when a staff member came over and handed him a pencil drawing. And Fujimoto Kikuo's gaze also fell on the painting.

In this painting, a mighty battleship is carefully sketched with pencils of different thicknesses, this battleship has a huge tower bridge and chimney, and at the bow of the ship, there are three huge quadruple turrets arranged in a pyramid, at this time, the quadruple main guns of these huge turrets raise two barrels each, and fire fiercely at the sky at a 45-degree angle, and the muzzles spew out long flames with thick black smoke. Around this huge battleship, there were several cruisers and destroyers, and above the fleet, several planes were even painted.

"You drew this?" Hiraga immediately recognized that this was the "Fujimoto version of the super battleship", and couldn't help but sneer again.

Fujimoto Kikuo nodded a little blankly.

Hiraga looked at the imaginary picture again, he looked at Fujimoto Kikuo's bloodshot eyes and gray hair on his sideburns, handed the painting in his hand to Fujimoto Kikuo with an expressionless face, turned around and walked away.

Yanjing, Admiralty of the Republic of China, Naval Intelligence Bureau.

At this time, in the intelligence analysis room, several people were talking about the latest information that had just been obtained from Congben.

After the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Navy reformulated its naval rearmament plan as a countermeasure to the Washington Conference. The plan is divided into plan A and plan B, and plan A to be completed as a "current contingency strategy" includes: first, to complete two aircraft carriers, "Panjo" and "Tenyu"; second, to build eight "Furutaka"-class medium cruisers and eight "Myoko" class large cruisers, third, to ensure the construction of 26 destroyers, and fourth, to build 14 cruiser submarines, 10 mine submarines, and 28 fleet submarines. ”

"Submarines?"

"It's a submarine. said that my name is awkward. ”

"This list is actually very revealing. From this list, we can see that the navy's countermeasure to the "Washington Treaty" is to build a large number of cruisers, destroyers, large submarines, and other types of ships that are not limited in the treaty, and at the same time develop new long-range oxygen torpedoes, in order to give full play to the numerical superiority of these auxiliary warships and the advantages of torpedo warfare when the war starts, and to consume the American fleet as much as possible before the decisive battle between the two fleets, so as to be able to defeat the main fleet of the United States with the existing fleet size in the final decisive battle of the fleet. According to the statistics of the 1934 Navy, in the years from the entry into force of the Washington Treaty to 1934, the navy spent 165.23 million yuan on the construction of capital ships, and 938.26 million yuan on the construction of auxiliary warships such as destroyers, submarines, and submarine carriers. This proportion also truly reflects the development trend of the Navy during this period. ”

In 1926 and 1927, the Navy added a shipbuilding program to the Navy in order to increase its torpedo warfare forces on the ocean. The new warship construction program includes 8 Kaohsiung-class cruisers, 36 destroyers of the Fuxue type, 3 additional cruiser submarines and 5 fleet submarines. The new shipbuilding program is called Plan B. On the eve of the London Naval Conference, Plan C was formed, which included the construction of six "King Kong" class ships, six additional "Kaohsiung" class cruisers and 30 "blowing snow" destroyers, six additional cruiser submarines and 36 fleet submarines, and two additional large aircraft carriers. ”

"The current Navy is based on Plan C and has formed the first supplementary plan for 1932, that is, the 'One Plan'. After proposing the 'nine-stage operation' strategy against the United States, the plan was supplemented in 1933, and the second supplementary plan for 1934-1935, the 'Second Plan', was formed, which included the construction of two 'Soryu' aircraft carriers, four 'Mogami' cruisers, and the addition of 'Chuchun' destroyers. ”

"At their rate of expansion, we're in danger!"

"The speed of expansion is one thing, the key is that we understand their strategic intentions in order to be targeted."

Since the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the Navy's idea of a decisive battle against the United States has been to gather the main forces of the fleet in the waters around Amami Oshima, and then go out to the sea east of Honshu Island to launch 'torpedo warfare on the ocean' and a decisive battle for the fleet. Based on the information we have so far, there has been no major change in my thinking, except for moving the decisive battle to the Ogasawara Islands. After the London Conference, the Navy's plan to expand its auxiliary warships was also aborted, and they further decided to extend the battlefield to the Central and Eastern Pacific, and launch a surprise attack as soon as the U.S. fleet left its home port. The product of the constant revision of this concept is the so-called 'nine-stage operation' plan. ”

"The 'Nine-Paragraph Operation' plan? What is the 'nine-stage method'? ”

"It sounds like this 'nine-stage operation' has nothing to do with our Chinese Navy."

"This 'nine-stage operation' is actually quite interesting, let's take a look at it specifically." An officer waved his hand, and as the staff worked, a huge map of the Pacific Rim was quickly placed on the shadow wall.

"This 'nine-stage operation' is specifically aimed at the Americans, and for us, I actually have other arrangements, so let's talk about their methods of dealing with the Americans first."

(To be continued)