On May 17, the navy finally discussed the result, and Chang Zhiguo, Jiang Haitao, and Tian Haiyang went to Chen Feng in the lord's mansion to report, and Chen Feng met them in the study of the lord's mansion.

"Sit down! Looking at your tired appearance, you know that you have worked hard in the past few days! Chen Feng said with a smile.

After the three of them sat down, Chang Zhiguo spoke: "Commander, we have analyzed the situation of the Japanese Navy that we have mastered, and compared the existing naval ships of our army, and found that our army is much different from the Japanese army in terms of large warships, especially the battleships, the Japanese army has as many as ten battleships in active service, and at least two super battleships are being built overtime, while we only have 3 battleships, and the performance can only be about the same as the Japanese Navy's worst Kongo. ”

"In addition, the Japanese army has 38 cruisers, and we only have 30, of which one-third of the cruisers are old things that the United States and the Soviet Union have eliminated, and the most important thing is that the rest of the newly built cruisers cannot compete with the Japanese cruisers, the main reason is that our main guns cannot compete with the Japanese army. Destroyers and frigates were also about the same, and neither could be compared with the Japanese. ”

Chen Feng looked at Chang Zhiguo and said: "After removing all the ships that cannot fight or can only fight in the coastal sea, how many ships are left in our navy?" ”

Tian Haiyang Chen Sheng replied: "There are 3 battleships, 5 aircraft carriers, 5 heavy cruisers, 13 light cruisers, 18 destroyers, 29 frigates, 29 other auxiliary ships, and 12 submarines. A total of 114 ships! ”

"How many more warships do we need to compete with the Japanese Navy?" Chen Feng asked straight to the point.

Chang Zhiguo replied: "There are 5 main battle aircraft carriers, 8 light aircraft carriers, 10 Fusang-class battleships, 30 Kaohsiung-class heavy cruisers, and 150 other warships. If you want to press the Japanese Navy, even the total annihilation of the Japanese Combined Fleet will increase by at least one-third. ”

"If you get so many warships in a short period of time. Will our navy be able to compete with the Japanese navy? Chen Feng asked in a deep voice.

"That's not it, the navy is a highly professional branch of the military, and it is not that having warships can improve combat effectiveness. With a warship, it is necessary to have enough experienced officers and men, and it is necessary to go through a period of running-in and forming combat effectiveness before the strongest strength of the warship can be brought into play. If we really have so many warships, it only takes half a year to run in and we will definitely be able to compete with the Japanese Navy, and we will not be as miserable as the last time, and we will not even have a chance to fight hard. Jiang Haitao replied.

Chang Zhiguo sighed and said, "Commander, having said that, it is almost impossible to get so many warships in a short period of time. Warships are not the same as rifles. Say production can be produced. Maybe sometimes it only takes a few hours, or even tens of minutes, to sink a warship, but it takes a lot of time to build a warship, and it takes at least one to two years to build a giant ship like a battleship. This also requires advanced shipbuilding skills! ”

Tian Haiyang also said: "Commander." Except for the time. It would take a lot of money to build so many warships, so we made a simple budget, with only three types of warships: aircraft carriers, battleships, and cruisers. If it were to be built or purchased in the quantities on the list, it would cost at least $4 billion. ”

"$4 billion?" Chen Feng was taken aback.

"Yes, Commander, a conservative estimate is $4 billion, and if you count the other warships, it will take at least $6 billion! However, 6 billion US dollars can raise 3 million elite army or 100 aviation divisions, or even more, so I still feel that it is necessary to spend such a big price to develop the navy. ”

After listening to Chang Zhiguo's words, Chen Feng fell into deep thought, this main battle aircraft carrier and light aircraft carrier are okay to say, even if they don't say it, he will add it, but those 10 Nagato-class battleships made Chen Feng a little undecided.

The Fuso-class battleship is the first of the 'super crossbow class' battleships originally built by the Japanese Navy, the so-called crossbow class ship refers to the British dreadnought-class battleship, its firepower greatly exceeded the level of the time, most of the general battleships at that time were equipped with four 30 cm guns, and the dreadnought-class battleship was unprecedentedly equipped with ten 30 cm main guns, which were mounted on five consecutive turrets, arranged according to the front one and the back two.

It has a displacement of 34,700 tons, a total length of 212.75m, a full width of 33.08m, a cruising force of 16 knots per hour of 11,800 nautical miles, and a speed force of 24.7 knots. The firepower is equipped with 12 36cm 45 times diameter main guns, 14 15cm secondary guns, 8 12.7cm high-angle guns, 16 25mm machine guns, and 3 water reconnaissance machines.

If you look at the performance of the battleship alone, this is undoubtedly an extremely successful battleship, inheriting all the advantages of the battleship's strong guns, even compared with the British dreadnought-class super battleship.

However, Chen Feng is well aware of the change in naval tactical thinking in the future, the giant ship artillery is declining, and the era of aircraft carrier + aviation is coming. The most important thing is that Chen Feng just quietly checked, take the Japanese-built Fusang-class battleship Fusang as an example, although this kind of battleship is about to decline, but the cost is still surprisingly high, one such battleship actually needs 30,000 points, ten is 300,000 points, spending so many points to exchange for these things that are about to be swept into the garbage heap of history, Chen Feng always feels that it is not cost-effective.

After thinking about it, Chen Feng said: "What do you think of naval tactical thinking?" ”

Chang Zhiguo and the others were obviously stunned, they didn't expect Chen Feng to suddenly talk to them about the tactical thinking of the navy, could it be that Commander Chen still understands this?

However, whether Chen Feng understood it or not, they had to answer, so the three of them were only slightly stunned for a moment, and Tian Haiyang replied: "At present, the leading ideas of the navies of various countries in the world are mostly evolved from the theory of sea power of Commodore Mahan, a US naval theorist. Brigadier General Mahan put forward the doctrine of giant ships and cannons on the basis of summing up the history of naval warfare for several thousand years before the 19th century, especially the history of naval warfare in modern times. This theory has been highly valued by Britain, Japan, the United States, Germany and other countries, so countries have built large battleships. ”

Chen Feng looked at Tian Haiyang and said: "You are right, the mainstream navy in the world now wants to be indeed the giant ship cannon doctrine, but you have found that no, Ma Han put forward the giant ship cannon theory on the basis of summarizing the history of naval warfare before the 19th century, that is to say, he used the concept before the 19th century to observe the wars of the 20th century. ”

Chang Zhiguo and the others looked at Chen Feng in surprise, not knowing what he meant, of course, maybe they had already guessed what Chen Feng wanted to say, but they couldn't believe it.

Chen Feng ignored the surprise of Chang Zhiguo and others, and continued: "The experience of the First World War shows that sea power, giant ships, and cannons are not as important as Mahan portrayed, and it can be said that the theory of giant ships and cannons has fallen behind the times. Sadly, after World War I, the strategic and military circles of various countries did not recognize this change, and still regarded the "giant ship and artillery doctrine" as an important strategic factor, and their strategic thinking stayed on the race to build battleships, and their military, diplomatic, and related strategic activities revolved around the construction of battleships. ”

"Commander, do you mean to say that the cannon of the giant ship is behind the times?" Jiang Haitao asked with difficulty the common voice of the three people.

Chen Feng nodded and said: "I think so, let's put it this way, you are all naval commanders, you have all participated in naval battles, and you also know the combat effectiveness of the main types of ships in the world, so let me ask you, you say that a battleship, and it is actually the most advanced battleship, how many aerial bombs can it withstand the attack?" And how many torpedoes can withstand it? ”

“？？？”

"Then let me tell you, no matter how many aerial bombs and torpedoes it can withstand, it will always be sunk, because its target is too big and too heavy, and if a large battleship encounters 20 carrier-based aircraft, it has almost no chance of being spared, and even if it does not die at the bottom of the sea, it will become scarred."

Seeing Chang Zhiguo and the others looking at him with puzzlement, Chen Feng said with a straight face: "Due to the progress of technology, the war situation has undergone certain qualitative changes, and the doctrine of giant ships and artillery has become an outdated concept, aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft will surely become the gods of naval warfare, and battleships will be eliminated. ”

Although Chen Feng was not a naval commander in his previous life, he still knew the most basic common sense, and he also knew that he sang the elegy of the era of giant ships and cannons to face up to the Japanese air force.

Historically, the situation of Japan's southward invasion of Southeast Asia has become increasingly dangerous, and as a deterrent to curb Japan's southward advance, and in accordance with the requirements of the Atlantic Charter, the British Navy sent the battleship "Prince of Wales", the battlecruiser "Counterattack", the newly commissioned aircraft carrier "Invincible" and four destroyers to the Far East, but the "Invincible" ran aground in the West Indies and could not join the Z Fleet.

On December 8, 1941, at the same time as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese landing fleet was preparing to land on the Malay Peninsula. When the news of the Japanese landing was heard, Vice Admiral Phillips, commander of the Far East Fleet, decided to form the Z Fleet consisting of the "Prince of Wales", the "Counterattack" and four destroyers to intercept the Japanese landing force.

On 9 December, the Z Fleet was discovered by Japanese aircraft, which was within attack range of the Japanese Navy's land-based air forces and lacked air cover and support. Then, on the 10th, the Japanese Navy's 22nd Air Force in French Indochina discovered the Z Fleet 70 miles southeast of Kuantan, and eventually the Prince of Wales and the Counterattack, which lacked air protection, were sunk. Among them, the "Prince of Wales" was hit by 6 torpedoes in front and back. The Prince of Wales sank at 14:20, ending a short but extraordinary service life. About 800 people were killed on both ships, including Vice Admiral Phillips and Captain Ritchie. This is also a sign of the end of the Giant Ship Cannon Doctrine, but the Japanese are not aware that they have made history. (To be continued......)