"If we could have such a large fleet as we have today during the Italian War, then we can definitely fight with the combined fleet of the five nations." Count Spee looked out the window at the two large fleet aircraft carriers that had newly joined the fleet and said excitedly.

In the more than two years after the end of the Italian War, the German Navy did not relax, on the one hand, it completed the deployment of German bases in the Mediterranean, and on the other hand, it accelerated the construction of aircraft carriers, during this time, the German Navy not only completed the two successor ships of the Moltke-class aircraft carriers, the Rütsov and the Dflinger, but also completed the refit of two other aircraft carrier reserve ships, the two super cruise ships originally named Europa and Bremen, Ended up being two aircraft carriers of the same name! So far, the German Navy has a total of 8 fleet aircraft carriers of three classes.

The first class aircraft carrier was naturally a test of the waters of the German Navy, the Blucher-class aircraft carrier. There are two aircraft carriers in this class, the Blucher and the Von der Tann. Except for the core compartment, this class of aircraft carriers has little defense. The value of this class of aircraft carriers is reflected in the large number of aircraft carried by them. It's more like a work of accumulating experience.

The second class of aircraft carriers is the Moltke-class armored aircraft carrier, and there are four aircraft carriers in this class, namely the Moltke, Goeben, Lütsov and Dvlinger. These guys with a total capacity of 25,000 tons on paper, an actual standard displacement of nearly 29,000 tons, and a full load displacement of 33,000 tons are the core combat effectiveness of the German Navy's current aircraft carrier formation! (See chapter 1080 for specific performance indicators, so I won't say much about it here.) These four aircraft carriers are fully capable of holding more than 100 aircraft of all kinds (including mooring and hanging. Even if part of the torpedo aircraft is replaced with twin-engine aircraft, the carrying capacity can reach more than 93 aircraft.

The third pole aircraft carrier is the Europa-class. This class of aircraft carriers was modified by cruise ships, namely the Europa and the Bremen. If you look at it only in terms of performance. The performance of this class of aircraft carriers is the best of all German aircraft carriers. Even according to the new combination of the Luftwaffe equipped with a certain number of twin-engine aircraft, the two aircraft carriers can still carry more than 100 aircraft. But Count Spee and other high-ranking naval officers were not very happy with this. Because the standard displacement of these two warships is up to about 40,000 tons. The increase in combat effectiveness brought by its ultra-high tonnage did not very much satisfy the German Navy.

However, over time, when the Germans began to deploy radar alerts on aircraft carriers, the Europa-class aircraft carrier became the only two aircraft carriers in the German Navy that could carry JU88 air/sea warning radar aircraft with a huge deck of 270 meters long and 34 meters wide (2 meters wider than expected). After all, a twin-engine medium bomber with a wing spread width of almost 20 meters and a length of more than 14 meters is too large for the 250-meter-long and 29-meter-wide deck of a Moltke-class aircraft carrier. The Europa-class aircraft carrier is the only aircraft carrier that can barely deploy this aircraft among the eight German aircraft carriers in the early stage, and because this aircraft carrier was formerly a cruise ship, the internal space is very spacious, the living environment is very comfortable, and more importantly, it can accommodate the huge population of the entire fleet staff. So these two aircraft carriers were the flagships of two aircraft carrier battle groups of the German High Seas Fleet until the new Hindenburg-class aircraft carriers entered service! Because of its good accommodation and luxurious decoration, it is even known as the "Sanssouci Palace" on the sea (the name of one of the Kaiser's palaces).

And on the side of battleships, the Germans also completed all the planned new ships, as well as the refitting of old ones. So far, the Germans have a total of 11 battleships of 4 classes in the first line, of which the battleship Bismarck and the Tyre batch are newly built battleships. These were also the only two new battleships to be built on the German Navy after the treaty ended. The two battleships were about the same in performance as the Austro-Hungarian new-generation combined-forces class battleships, with a standard displacement of almost 42,000 tons. Equipped with 3 3-pack 16-inch L45 naval guns, the length of the battleship is up to 245 meters. Width 35 meters. THE THICKNESS OF THE MAIN ARMOR BELT IS 360MM, THE HEIGHT IS 5 METERS. THE MAIN HORIZONTAL ARMOR WAS 150MM, AND THE LEVEL AT THE AMMUNITION DEPOT WAS INCREASED TO 170MM. THERE IS ALSO A 30MM SPALL LAYER ON THE UPPER DECK. The length of the main armor box reached about 160 meters. IN ADDITION TO THE MAIN ARMOR BELT, THERE WERE PARTS OF THE FRONT AND REAR OF THE HULL WITH 100MM OF THIN ARMOR. THE UPPER PART OF THE PROPELLER SHAFT IS A LAYER OF HORIZONTAL ARMOR WITH A THICKNESS OF 150MM. TURRET FRONTAL PROTECTION UP TO 420MM. THE THICKNESS OF THE TURRET ALSO REACHED 380MM. The maximum output horsepower is 165,000 horsepower, and the speed can reach more than 30 knots, in order to adapt to long-distance combat. The tanker of this class of battleships carried 7,500 tons of fuel, which was enough to cope with a base in the Mediterranean. The need to fight in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

Then there were the 4 Bavaria-class battleships, which were originally armed with 10 15-inch guns. After some modifications, the turret in the middle was removed and the power was increased. In the end, these four battleships were reborn as fast battleships. Its rated power of up to 130,000 hp was enough to allow the Bavaria-class battleships to run at speeds of more than 30 knots in the event of an overload.

The King-class battleships also underwent the same modification. Ditching a turret turned the remaining three King-class battleships into standard fast battleships. And the end of the Caesar-class battleships was a bit more tragic. These battleships equipped with 8 14-inch guns really do not have much space to install too many power systems, although with the progress of technology, if the boiler and turbine are replaced, the power can be doubled in the same volume, but the sad thing is that even if the power is doubled, the maximum output power is only about 100,000 tons, considering the need to add underwater protrusions to increase underwater protection and the increase in weight and linear destruction caused by the increase in horizontal armor, it is almost impossible to turn these warships into high-speed ships without firepower. And if the two guns are dismantled, the battleship with only 6 14-inch guns is completely meatless and discarded for the German Navy, plus these two battleships have been war-torn and have too many internal injuries and breakdowns. The Germans also realized that the significance of preserving these two warships was really limited, so they decided to retire them. But it was not sent to the shipbreaking yard for dismantling. Instead, it was preserved under the name of a memorial ship.

By the way, there are two more Izmail-class battleships. For these two battleships, the German Navy loved and hated! These two battleships, which originated from Russia and played a huge role in the brutal naval battle of World War 1, were not only the backbone of the German Navy at that time, but also an important symbol of Germany's defeat of Russia! In both practical and political terms, it seems that the Germans should treat these two battleships well. And judging by the potential for modification, there is nothing difficult in replacing 4 3-pack 14-inch guns with 4 twin 16-inch guns. The defense aspect is also good. The only problem is that the speed is too slow. According to the current technology, even if all the oil-fired boilers and turbines are replaced, the output is only about 110,000 horsepower. It would be nice to be able to reach a speed of 27 knots. This speed is clearly not capable of following the aircraft carrier fleet for a quick maneuver.

"We have no plans to build new battleships at the moment, we only have 11 battleships in total, and if we remove them, we need to invest at least 3 large aircraft carriers to replenish two battleships. 9 battleships was simply unbearable for the German high seas fleet. In naval battles there will inevitably be night battles. Close combat and ground support require a large number of battleships, and unless the government can pay to help us make up for the lack of firepower caused by the retirement of two ships, I will not agree to retire them. Eventually, at the insistence of Count Spee, the two battleships were retained and completely refitted.

So the entire German battleship formation was divided into two detachments, the first detachment was 2 Bismarck-class battleships and 4 Bavarian-class battleships, they were fast, firepower, and good defense. It is completely possible to accompany aircraft carriers in battle. And the second detachment was 2 Izmail-class battleships and 3 King-class battleships. Compared with the battleships of the first detachment, they had obvious shortcomings, so they were generally used as a second-tier fleet to perform tasks that were not very dangerous, such as land attacks.

In the German naval battle sequence, capital ships were defined in addition to aircraft carriers and battleships. Another type of battleship is an aviation cruiser. According to the provisions of the Naval Armaments Treaty and its successors, the German Navy could have a maximum of 5 aviation cruisers. And after the expiration of the treaty, the Germans decided that it no longer made sense to continue the construction of such half-height and non-low battleships. So after the completion of the 5 aviation cruisers provided for in the treaty, no new aviation cruisers were built. And these 5 aviation cruisers all belong to the Emden-class aviation cruisers, and there are a total of 5 warships of this class. They are the Emden, Königsberg, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Szczecin.

Aviation cruisers of this class have a paper displacement of up to 15 thousand tons. ARMED WITH 6 HEAVY GUNS OF 240MM. THE POWER COMPARTMENT PART OF THE ARMOR BELT IS 120MM AND INCLINED 20 DEGREES. THE ARMOR OF THE AMMUNITION COMPARTMENT WAS 155MM AND INCLINED 20 DEGREES. THE THICKNESS OF THE MAIN HORIZONTAL ARMOR IS ABOUT 80MM. The length of the flight deck of the battleship is 160 meters. The lower hangar is 100 meters long. The length of the entire ship is 210 meters. The width is 24 meters. Counting the deck mooring, an aviation cruiser of this class can carry about 30 aircraft (of course, there are no torpedo machines. The powertrain is rated at 120,000 horsepower. The maximum output can reach 140,000 horsepower, and the speed is more than 32 knots.

According to the German Navy's battle plan, these 5 air cruisers will be used for the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean escort mission, although 5 seems a bit small, but considering that Germany's allies have another 5 air cruisers, the number of air cruisers that the Allies can mobilize is about 10.

Although the aviation cruiser and the heavy cruiser were of equal tonnage, in the eyes of the Germans, the former was the capital ship, while the latter was considered an auxiliary warship. Compared with the size of three or two German cruisers in history, the German cruiser formation after the victory in World War I in this plane can be described as terrifying! After the Germans broke the treaty restrictions, the Germans had a total of up to 14 light and heavy cruisers so far. Of these, 8 were heavy cruisers and 6 were light cruisers.

"The cruisers of the Germans were almost all built according to a mold, whether heavy or light, and their layout was three triple turrets stacked at the front of the battleship, and then the entire aft deck was left free for seaplanes. It's so ugly. "The British used to describe the German cruiser formation in this way.

To say that this layout naturally has its benefits, the entire aft deck can accommodate 6-8 seaplanes, and the hangar can be housed. This undoubtedly increased the aviation capabilities of the battleship. However, there are also disadvantages, in order to accommodate the triple turret. The front part of the hull of these ships is more hypertrophied, and the resulting drag will also be greater. And after all, it is three turrets in a row. Therefore, the direct space of the turret will be relatively small, and it is possible to destroy 2 turrets with a single shot. And even with an enlarged bow width. But the depth of underwater mine protection at the first turret is still a little thin. Once concentrated by torpedoes or mines. It may be the consequence of being stricter, but the Germans chose this layout after weighing it again and again.

The heavy cruisers of the Germans could actually be considered a first-class cruiser. Because they were all made from a mold, the eight heavy cruisers were Hamburg, Berlin, Lübeck, Munich, Denzer, Wiesbaden, Frankfurt and Cologne. THESE HEAVY CRUISERS HAD A MAIN ARMOR BELT OF 180MM INCLINED 20 DEGREES AND HORIZONTAL ARMOR OF 90MM. The power take-off is similar to that of the Emden-class aviation cruisers. The length of the hull is 225 meters, the width is 23 meters. The speed is above 32 knots. Theoretically, it is possible to carry 8 seaplanes, and there is also a hangar at the rear of the deck into which two seaplanes can be sent for maintenance.

Similarly, light cruisers can be seen as copies of the cruiser Rhine. There were originally 7 light cruisers of this class, but during the Italian War, one of them was destroyed by the Italian fleet led by Iaquino in the northeast. So there are only six ships left, and these six ships are Kolberg, Mainz, Augsburg, Rostock, Leipzig and Jena.

Although the Germans already had as many as 14 cruisers, in the eyes of the Germans, the size of such a fleet was obviously not enough to meet the needs of the German High Seas Fleet, so in the new stage of the expansion plan, the Germans planned to build at least 4 more heavy cruisers and 2 light cruisers to make up for the lack of secondary capital ships. Of course, this is a later story, so I won't mention it for the time being. These cruisers were divided into four cruiser detachments, of which four heavy cruisers were in one detachment. And the light cruisers were 3 ships in a detachment. The task of the heavy cruiser detachment was primarily to accompany the battleship as an aircraft carrier. Light cruisers, on the other hand, serve as destroyer fleets or carry out escort missions. While some might think that the light cruiser was a bit excessive as the lead ship of the destroyer, the Germans thought so, believing that any fleet acting alone would have to have an air force to provide reconnaissance or anti-submarine assistance. The smallest warships in the German fleet that could carry aircraft were light cruisers, and if they were not used as destroyer ships, they could only be used as higher-class warships.

While vigorously building capital ships and sub-capital ships, the Germans did not forget to replenish destroyers. In World War I, the Germans suffered a lot in several battles because of the lack of enough destroyers. And after the end of the First World War. As Germany moved out of the North Sea into the ocean, the Germans preferred to build a balanced fleet while emphasizing the ability to engage at sea. Attention has also begun to be paid to the protection of sea lines of communication. The Germans could use submarines to make the British sea transport lines fly. The same can be done by the British. Compared with the anti-submarine technology of the British, the anti-submarine capabilities of the Germans were somewhat inferior. So the Germans attached great importance to the anti-submarine capabilities of destroyers.

The destroyers of the Germans were divided into two types. A standard fleet destroyer with a comparatively large tonnage. The performance is relatively balanced, and it can simultaneously perform anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and lightning strikes. ACCORDING TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE GERMAN NAVY, FLEET CRUISERS SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 6 105MM HIGH-LEVEL DUAL-PURPOSE GUNS, AT LEAST 6 MORE THAN 40MM GUNS AND NO LESS THAN 20MM GUNS WITH NO. 20 MM GUNS. It has anti-submarine firepower such as at least two depth charge drop rails and hedgehog shells, and must be equipped with detection equipment such as bow sonar and underwater hydrophones at the same time. AT THE SAME TIME, AT LEAST ONE 533MM TORPEDO TUBE AND RELOADING DEVICE SHOULD BE ARRANGED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HULL, OR TWO 4-PACK 533MM TORPEDO TUBES SHOULD BE ARRANGED WITHOUT A RELOADING DEVICE. The speed should be at least 35 knots. The range should also be more than 6,000 nautical miles. And after achieving these characteristics, the tonnage of fleet destroyers will be at least about 1800 tons. By now, the Germans had built 40 destroyers of various fleets. There are 10 destroyer detachments for every 4 destroyers. MOST OF THESE DESTROYERS ARE OF SIMILAR CONFIGURATION, AND ACCORDING TO THE TIME, THEY ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO CATEGORIES, NAMELY THE TYPE 1928 DESTROYERS, WHICH ARE ARMED WITH SIX 105MM GUNS AND HAVE TWO 4-PACK 533 TORPEDO TUBES. THE TYPE 1930 DESTROYER WAS EQUIPPED WITH FIVE 128MM GUNS AND ONE QUINTUPLE TORPEDO TUBE.

The second category of destroyers is mainly escort destroyers, and the performance requirements of this type of destroyer are much worse than that of standard fleet destroyers. It can even be described as shabby. Even a lot of artillery was removed from the old destroyers and light cruisers of the 1st World War! For example, the 105MML45 naval gun. It would be good for an escort destroyer to be able to get such 4 naval guns, and some warships even took 88MML45 naval guns to make up the number. Of course, in order to make these old guns have theoretical anti-aircraft capabilities. These guns were replaced with new gun mounts and increased elevation angles. As for the necessary torpedo equipment for destroyers, these battleships can be saved, and some full-time escort destroyers do not even have torpedoes. ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE WAS ALSO LIMITED TO THE 20MM ERLEY ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS, AND THE PRIZED BOFORS 40MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS RARELY APPEARED ON THESE SHIPS.

Compared to the weak naval combat and anti-aircraft firepower of these escort destroyers, the only thing worth mentioning is the formidable anti-submarine firepower. According to the German Navy, the most likely threat to a convoy sailing in the Indian Ocean would be the enemy's submarines, (well, if it encounters the occasional air cruiser or other class of warship.) Both escort destroyers and fleet destroyers are given in vain. So these destroyers can have a semi-civilian hull structure, you can ignore artillery and air defense, but if you throw the dog-beating stick of anti-submarine capabilities, then it is really useless.

The anti-submarine weapons of escorting destroyers can be described as quite comprehensive, from depth charge delivery rails, hedgehog bomb launchers with gunpowder as thrust, and mine throwers and other weapons can be said to be very comprehensive. THE FORMER LOOKS A BIT LIKE A ROCKET LAUNCHER IN APPEARANCE, WHICH CAN THROW A 150MM AND 22KG ANTI-SUBMARINE BOMB OUT ABOUT 90 METERS. THESE ANTI-SUBMARINE BOMBS HAVE A CHARGE OF 15KG. One launcher can fire 4 groups of 24 rounds of anti-submarine bombs. Mainly used against submarines at shallow depths. The latter resembles a large-caliber mortar cannon and has a much larger caliber than a hedgehog launcher. For example, the Germans could use a 12-inch anti-submarine mine thrower to weigh up to 177 kilograms. Depth charges with a charge of 94 kg were fired at an initial velocity of 10 meters per second, and the effective range was about 200 meters. It is mainly used against submarines in those deep water areas.

And in terms of power and speed, the gap between these destroyers and regular destroyers was even greater, at a time when the German Navy was fully fuel-heavy. Some of these destroyers are still using old kerosene boilers, and the power system is also reduced as much as possible to reduce power. According to the meaning of the German Navy, it was enough for these ships to run at a speed of 25 knots. So much so that individual destroyers of more than 1000 tons. Its power output is less than 14,000 horsepower. However, due to the extreme simplification of equipment, the cost of these destroyers is very low. So much so that according to the current German naval military expenditure, the number of construction can be described as a dozen!

At the same time as expanding the surface fleet. The Germans did not forget the submarine, which was the sharpest dark sword of the German High Seas Fleet in World War 1. Compared with history, German submarines were larger earlier, and the displacement of the new generation of submarines was generally about 800 tons. And pay more attention to underwater speed and endurance. And the most important reason for this change is aimed at the future Chinese Navy. In the Atlantic direction, Germany had the forward bases of Spain and Portugal, (in this book Portugal has expressed its willingness to join the Central Powers.) And part of the German troops was already stationed. In the Indian Ocean, there is the Persian Gulf as a naval base, almost on the head of India. It stands to reason that there is no need for submarines with a long range.

However, the German Navy believes that in order to fully deter China and bring the flames of war to the South China Sea, it is necessary to have ocean-going submarines with large tonnage, considering that almost all of Southeast Asia is China's sphere of influence, and the number of various anti-submarine ships and anti-submarine aircraft will be amazing, so it is necessary to improve the underwater performance to increase the probability of survival of submarines, so the large-scale submarines and the transformation of their appearance have become an inevitable trend. As in history, the Germans also built a number of submarines in this plane for ocean-going resupply. to increase the sustained combat capability of the submarine forces. While the surface fleet is expanding dramatically, the size of the wolf pack in the deep sea is also beginning to swell viciously!

Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976 for the tip~~~. Recently, the subscription is very sad.,It's been 4 consecutive days below the average subscription.,The author originally planned to break through the 1000 average subscription mark before June this year.,In the end, it's less than 30.,It's not going to pass.,But now there's a downward trend.。 Today, there is a big chapter, I hope you can support a lot. This book has been written until now, and it is not easy to persevere! (To be continued......)