"Once the aircraft carrier fleet is dispatched, this limited attack on Germany's Atlantic transport line is likely to turn into a new large-scale decisive naval battle. The Germans would not allow the main force of our fleet to go on a safari on the Atlantic route, and their huge navy, which had gathered the two accomplices of Italy and Austria, would inevitably take countermeasures against the attack of the main force of our fleet, so that the scale of the battle would escalate rapidly. A gray-haired U.S. Navy rear admiral said in a solemn tone, "But we can't afford to wait any longer." Land pressure from the southern borders, and the disparity between us and the Germans in the types of ships we build, make it imperative for our forces to act decisively in the near future. ”

In mid-April 1938, the maritime strategic situation between Germany and the United States had undergone new changes compared with the end of the previous year, but to the pessimism of the entire US naval leadership, the relative strength between them and the Allied fleet led by Germany had not only not been reduced, but had shown signs of further enlargement. According to the latest intelligence, the German Navy has been supplemented by no less than 5 heavy aircraft carriers in the past six months, thus bringing the number of aircraft carriers they can dispatch to an astonishing 15 or more; However, the number of aircraft carriers on its own side is only more than half of that of its opponent, and this is still the ≡ number obtained when there are two small Wasp class ships. If you count the ships of the satellite countries that the other side is entangled in, the gap between the lineups of the two sides will only be even greater.

The factors contributing to this tragic situation are manifold. The five-and-a-half-year financial crisis severely weakened the industrial power of the United States, so much so that today, steel production, some of the core industrial indicators that played a crucial role in the national war. It has not yet recovered to the level of its heyday in 1927; And in the field of resource utilization. The U.S. Navy also had a strict deviation. When they realized that aircraft carriers are the central protagonists of today's naval warfare. It was less than a year ago; Prior to this, they had already started construction of 16 battleships of the 4th class, with a total cost of more than $1.5 billion, which was enough to allow 25 Essex-class aircraft carriers to form a complete combat force when converted into production capacity. Based on the inherent lag in naval construction, the US Navy was embarrassed to find that the delay had not served the purpose they had expected: Among the new large ships it had received, there were Iowa and Montana, heavy battleships with a standard displacement of 48,000 tons and 60,000 tons, respectively, and the number of aircraft carriers accounted for only half of all the large ships, while the other side's newly commissioned large ships were all fleet aircraft carriers. This is undoubtedly unacceptable to the US Navy when the production capacity of both sides is at the same level!

"The new TBF Avenger torpedo aircraft has replaced the TBD Douglas and has become the main lightning strike force of our aircraft carriers. While the pilots didn't have enough time to get used to the better aircraft, the war was never a Hollywood movie that began when everything was ready; In the vast majority of cases, it has driven the warring parties to fight head-on in less than ideal situations, and it is the braver and more well-resourced side that wins. Nimitz, who was in the main battle, spoke unhurriedly, and his expression was a little more steady than most. The naval battle five months earlier did not make him lose confidence in victory, and he always believed that the German Navy was by no means invincible. Nimitz paused, and then said: "As for that kind of tricky guided bomb, we also have certain means of dealing with it. Newer radio jammers emit an entire band of intense electromagnetic waves, as long as the other party transmits the signal in this range. Its transmission efficiency will also be greatly reduced. In this way, we can recover the technical decline in a considerable way. ”

"Chester, do you have any battle plans?" Johnson set his eyes on the subordinate in front of him. There was also a hint of anticipation in the words. At present, the U.S. Navy is still in an extremely passive position because of the huge gap between the two sides in the lineup, and the risks to be borne by the main force of the fleet are extraordinary; The slightest carelessness will lead to a catastrophic situation in which the main force of the British fleet will be lost. For this reason, Johnson did not know how many strategies he planned in the six months of his succession, but all of them were aborted under high risks and low returns.

"Your Excellency, the German Navy has relied too much on their air power to fight, and we can take advantage of this to carry out operations!" Hearing Johnson's inquiry, Nimitz still maintained his calm tone, but there was already a slight expectation in his eyes. Johnson frowned and said, "But Chester, didn't we change our tactical focus last time, and the battlefleet under your command carried out the core mission?" In the case of having already used it once, the Germans were bound to be wary of it. What's more, naval warfare is no better than shelling landing sites, the opposing fleet is maneuvering at all times, and it is undoubtedly more difficult to capture its specific position and get close to it, with the formation speed of battleships of only 27 knots. ”

Nimitz had a look of pain and guilt on his face, as if he was regretting his previous defeat in the Caribbean; After a long while, he finally spoke again: "Your Excellency, although this time we are facing an enemy fleet in motion, they also have corresponding constraints in battle. The most important thing for the Germans was to get the convoy safe and secure to the ports of Cuba and eastern Mexico, and any other action that clashed with them would not be chosen by them! This time, the force that our military uses to fight the enemy is still aircraft carriers, and if we go smoothly, we will be able to make up for the regret of missing the opportunity nearly a year ago. ”

On 30 April, the main force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, which had been anchored in the harbor for a long time, finally launched its first sortie since its defeat more than five months ago. The lineup of 9 aircraft carriers and 8 fast battleships, while inferior to the Allied fleet, is still a formidable threat that can send any fleet to the bottom of the sea. Compared with the gloomy mood of the vast majority of American officers and men who lost hope for the future, Nimitz, who stood on the Iowa, was in high spirits; A few days earlier, he had presented all his considerations to Fleet Commander Johnson, and after some detailed discussion, he had the support of most of the generals. Then it's time for it to be put into action.

According to Nimitz's plan, the entire U.S. fleet would be divided into two fleets with a balance of forces: Task Force 58, which consisted of three Essex-class and two Wasp-class carriers, and four Essex-class aircraft carriers, would become the core of Task Force 7. The two fleets are separated by 150 nautical miles and can be supported by fighter jets; Of course, due to the obvious space gap between the two sides, it is impossible for fighters to take off from the other fleet in such a timely manner. However, this is not at all the core of the strategy of the American fleet this time.

If the sortie fleet had gone smoothly and had not been detected by the Germans, the main force would have penetrated directly into the middle of the North Atlantic and dealt the most severe blow to the incoming and outgoing German convoys. For the U.S. fleet, this is the most ideal, but the most difficult to achieve. German submarines are now ubiquitous on the East Coast of the United States, and with the same use of radar, they can suddenly increase the search range from less than 8 kilometers to more than 15 kilometers; Since the dispatch of the cruiser to carry out the operation to break the diplomatic relations, the US Admiralty has received nearly 10 reports that the warships have intercepted the receipt of unidentified telegrams from nearby waters, and there is no doubt that this must be a masterpiece of German submarine surveillance. In addition, there is a hidden disadvantage of a large-scale fleet sortie, that is, the movement caused by it is obviously much larger than that of a small fleet: whether it is fuel, fresh water, or all kinds of supplies necessary to go to sea, the amount of consumption of the large fleet to go deep into the ocean is extremely staggering, and it is easy for people with ulterior motives to find clues and cooperate with the enemy.

Today, there are many voices in the United States against the war, and millions of Germans hate the current government. Under these circumstances, the activities of German espionage undoubtedly gained an excellent breeding ground. Although the US police have used radio anti-tracking technology to carry out rapid raids again and again, they have not gained anything except for the transmitter that people have gone to the empty building; The biggest headache for the Americans is that they have already seized several transmitters, but that spy band still sends out code messages from time to time!

In view of this, the American fleet is also ready to be discovered by the other side. If the news of your own dispatch has leaked and the main naval cluster stationed in the Caribbean Sea is dispatched, then you will choose the opportunity to start a non-fatal confrontation with the opponent first, and then turn to withdraw from the opponent's strike range. In order to achieve this maneuver, the US aircraft carriers carried far more than the normal number of smoke canisters, and as long as they made good use of the weather in the North Atlantic, they could still evade the opponent's air pursuit with fewer losses. Then it's time for them to get into action.

The two U.S. fleets, which were not far apart, chose the opportunity to reorganize their forces after the battle: for an Essex-class aircraft carrier with a top speed of more than 32 knots, it would take five hours to cross 150 nautical miles. If the relevant flight equipment of the aircraft carrier is not damaged in the battle, then it can be directly replaced as a carrier-based aircraft, and the side that replenishes the air force is the offensive core of the US fleet in the next battle. Since the specific number of carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier cannot be known through aerial reconnaissance, the kitten, which was originally thought to be no threat, is very likely to instantly transform into a roaring lion tiger! (To be continued......)

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