The Soviet government's sudden announcement of its withdrawal from the League of Nations not only surprised Britain and France, but also shocked the whole world. In the face of this sudden situation, Britain and France were caught off guard!

To this end, the foreign ministers of the two countries immediately launched urgent consultations on how to deal with the bad effects of the Soviet Union's withdrawal from the League of Nations, and of course, most importantly, how to punish the Soviet Union.

So was the USSR ready to deal with the Anglo-French punishment? This has to start with Trotsky's previous question in the Politburo. At that time, Lao Tuo was very concerned about the reaction of Britain and France, and feared that it would lead to a new round of sanctions against the Soviet Union.

But at that time Sverdlov and Stalin replied to him like this:

"Judging from the current situation, the technology that must be introduced to fully realize China's industrialization has basically completed the introduction of work. Even if imperialism isolates us again, it will not be able to have a fundamental impact on the modernization of our country! ”

"Even, we can be very optimistic that it is basically impossible to survive the total isolation and blockade of our country once again. We have had fruitful communication with the United States, and the United States Government understands our normal response. ”

To put it bluntly, the current Soviet Union has nothing to fear. Why? In the past, on the issue of the Northeast, they sold a lot of favors to the Americans, and it is reasonable for the Americans to pay it back. Moreover, the Americans did not join the League of Nations in the first place, and the Soviet Union's actions did not conflict with the national interests of the United States, especially since the Soviet Union solemnly pledged that it would never directly interfere in Spain's internal affairs and would never directly participate in the Spanish Civil War.

Under such circumstances, the Americans naturally do not make such a fuss as the Soviet Union invaded Finland in the past, interrupting technical and military cooperation.

Of course. Most importantly. The American consortium exerted extreme pressure on Congress. The Soviet market in these two years was of vital importance to the recovery of the US economy. For example, the automobile industry and the aviation industry, which were hit hard by the economic crisis, made a lot of money with huge orders from the Soviet Union, and at this time let the capitalists impose embargoes and sanctions according to the wishes of their European cousins, on what basis?

You must know that for capitalists, cutting off their wealth is even more severe than killing their parents. Why should we American businessmen take care of the national interests of the British and French? What do those two goods have to do with us?

It is conceivable that the strong opposition of the capitalists naturally made it impossible for Congress to react to the Soviet Union in any extreme way, that is, to express some insignificant regret and disappointment through diplomatic channels. That's it.

And then what? The Americans did business, and they also shipped arms to the Soviet Union without any scruples, and as long as the polar bears could come up with real gold and platinum, they would really sell whatever they wanted. For example, the B17, let's say aircraft carriers and light cruisers.

On April 20, 1936, just as the British were clamoring to make the Soviet Union look good, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., the Senate passed the "Raider Aircraft Carrier Sales Act" and the "Brooklyn-class Light Modified Cruiser Sales Act" by a majority, representing that the US government finally opened the highest-end arms market to the Soviet Union.

In fact, at the same time, there were far more than these two arms purchase bills, and a package of technology sales bills including fire control, artillery, engines, and some armor technology were all passed. It's just that the USS Raider and the Brooklyn-class light cruisers are the most eye-catching.

Let's start with the Raider. It was a small fleet aircraft carrier, launched in 1931. It was only in service in 1934. In the U.S. Navy, it has not been in service for two years, and it can almost be said that it is a brand new warship. So why do Americans say they sell it?

The reason is very simple, the performance of this small aircraft carrier is not ideal, and the design is greedy for perfection, requiring a large capacity of 10,000-ton hull, and as a result, a series of problems have arisen in use. In just two years of service, the Navy was quite dissatisfied with this little guy and strongly demanded a large fleet aircraft carrier.

The Navy was not satisfied, but the Soviets were interested in taking over, and the price offered was very satisfactory to the Americans, so the two sides hit it off. Soon the Raider was removed from the U.S. Navy and re-entered the Newport News shipyard to be rebuilt to meet the requirements of the Red Navy.

Then again, why would the Red Navy be interested in such a bad aircraft carrier that could only serve as an aircraft courier and training ship in World War II? The reason is very simple, first of all, the gap in the aircraft carriers of the Red Navy is relatively large, although it has been urgently renovated before the rapid supply of the two ships, but it is far water can not save the near fire.

After more than ten years of use, the original Leningrad and Moskva were already relatively worn and consumed, and now they have gone to Spain, and after high-intensity use, God knows how long they can last.

Therefore, the new aircraft carrier is very urgent. True, the technical performance of the Raider was not ideal, but there were no problems in ensuring the training of the Red Naval Aviation. What's more, this time, the Raider will also be refitted, the design of the chimneys that can be put down on both sides of the deck will be eliminated, the new chimneys integrated with the ship island will be rebuilt, and the flight deck will be extended appropriately. The entire renovation would last one year and was expected to be delivered to the Red Navy in May 1937.

The completion of these transformations, not to mention the rebirth of the Raider, at least solved the more difficult technical problems. As for the shortcomings of the ship's small endurance and poor seaworthiness, for the Red Navy, this is not a problem at all. Anyway, the ship is ready to be delivered to the Black Sea Fleet, and in the calm Mediterranean, how bad can the seaworthiness be?

There may also be comrades who say that it is really not worth buying such a small aircraft carrier, and there is a suspicion of wasting money. The Soviet Union could have designed and built its own aircraft carriers! In other words, although the Soviet Union initially completed industrialization, to be honest, its industrial capacity was still very weak. Especially since 1933, a large number of new ships have been put on the slipway, so to speak, for the construction of Type 33 destroyers and Type 35 heavy cruisers, the high-end shipbuilding capacity of the USSR was already at full capacity. There is no excess capacity to build aircraft carriers.

And let's count the time with our fingers, how many years is there until 1941? Can a big navy be built in five years with the strength of the Soviet Union?

Obviously, this will not work, it can be said that the Soviet Union did not have enough industrial capacity to build aircraft carriers until 1938. If you think about the start of construction of the aircraft carrier in 1938, it will definitely not be possible to build it in three years with Maozi's technical ability. And as soon as the war broke out. Resources will inevitably be tilted towards the Army. At that time, the new aircraft carrier could really only rot on the slipway.

So. We have to do what we can. The performance of the Raider is indeed not ideal, but the spot on the shelf, we can use it when we buy it, right? After getting the ship in 1937, there was plenty of time to train pilots and aircrew, as well as plenty of opportunities to conduct combat tests. Then let's build our own aircraft carrier in the next step, isn't it possible to take fewer detours!

And Li Xiaofeng feels that the Raider aircraft carrier is not so bad, of course, it will definitely not work if you let her be the fleet aircraft carrier, but you can use her as a pure air supremacy aircraft carrier, which is still very competent to support the fleet and escort the fleet. Even the role that Li Xiaofeng really prepared for the Raider was an amphibious assault ship. Maintain a certain fixed-wing fighter. More helicopters on board, carrying out special operations missions, that is still competent and pleasant.

For example, this time to rescue the Soviet class brothers, if there was no emergency rush to the scene of the aircraft carrier Moskva, with the current helicopter performance, there would be almost no way to complete the mission. The Spanish Civil War lasted three years in its history, and it is conceivable that there will be similar missions in the future. Moreover, helicopters are more suitable for interception at sea than fixed-wing aircraft, especially for boarding and inspection missions. And such a mission will be the norm for the Red Navy in Spanish waters.

In addition, the purchase of the USS Raider aircraft carrier will undoubtedly further bring relations with the United States closer and lay the foundation for broadening the scope of cooperation in the future. After all, before that, the Americans had cooperated with the Soviet Union in all directions. But the level of cooperation is relatively low. With the USS Raider and the Brooklyn-class light cruisers opening the breakthrough, the partnership will be even deeper in the future. In a sense, buying the Raider is an investment and a stepping stone.

Of course. At that time, the Soviet Union, especially within the Red Navy, was not very interested in the Raiders, which were money-losers, and what really interested and pleased them was the Brooklyn-class improved light cruisers.

To tell the truth, the Red Navy's demand for cruisers was long-sighted, and throughout the twenties and early thirties, the Red Navy could only hold up its yards with the old cargo of the former German High Seas Fleet. As the treaty-type cruisers of the major naval powers continued to dump, the Red Navy was thrown farther and farther away in the cruiser field. Now that they can finally catch up, why do you think they are upset?

Some comrades may ask again, when the Type 35 heavy cruiser was engaged in before, didn't the relevant technology of the Brooklyn class have already been introduced? Why do you want to approve it again from the U.S. Congress? To be honest, this time it was really different, in the past, it was the introduction of the technology of each subsystem, and this time it will be directly introduced into the finished product.

Other words. These light cruisers were produced in the United States in order to alleviate the gap in the insufficient shipbuilding capacity of the Soviet Union. And note that it was not the original Brooklyn-class light cruisers that were introduced, but an improved version of it.

Of course, it's okay if you say it's a completely new version. The ship is 190 meters long, 19 meters wide, has a draft of 6.5 meters, a standard displacement of 11,000 tons, and a maximum displacement of 13,250 tons. It is equipped with four triple 155 mm guns and eight 100 mm high-level guns. The maximum speed is 32 knots, and 18 knots is the maximum endurance of 6000 nautical miles.

Judging by the tonnage, the ship exceeded the treaty limit by a thousand tons, and if it had been two years earlier, such a design would simply not have been able to go to the slipway of American shipyards. But with Italy and Japan refusing to sign the new treaty, and the ship was not much beyond the scope of the treaty, the Americans turned a blind eye.

With a displacement of 11,000 tons, this light cruiser, which the Red Navy called the Type 36 cruiser, was not bad, with waterline armor up to 152 mm at its thickest point, and also had a mine-resistant compartment (20 mm thick protective walls). Horizontal armor is slightly thinner than the Brooklyn class, only 50 mm. Overall, the protection is considered first-class among treaty-class cruisers.

As for firepower, although there is one less triple turret than the Brooklyn class, and the eight 127-mm high-level dual-purpose guns have been replaced by 100-mm Russian goods. However, the ship's firepower is still considerable, for example, the 155 mm gun used in the ship is developed by the Soviet Union, which is not only slightly larger than the traditional 6-inch (152 mm) gun, but also has a heavier projectile (weighing 55 kg, the American MK12 weighs 47.6 kg, and the British Mark XXIII weighs 50.8 kg). And the barrel of the gun is quite long (57 times the caliber!). The power is still considerable.

The 100-mm high-level dual-purpose gun used in the Type 36 light cruiser was developed after introducing the relevant technology of the Italian company Ottomela. The artillery performance is also good, mainly because of the limited production capacity of the American 127-mm MK12 high-level dual-purpose gun. For the time being, it can only meet the needs of the country's navy. The 130-mm artillery of the same level introduced by the Soviet Union is still in the process of technical research. I can only make do with 100 mm anti-aircraft guns. Of course. There is also room in the design, and it is easy to replace the new 130 mm high-level dual-purpose gun in the future.

Type 36 light cruisers, the Soviet Union ordered a total of two batches of four from the United States, the first batch was started in 1936, and the second batch was started in 1937. In addition to these four, in 1938, with the increase in shipbuilding capacity, the Soviet Union also began to produce Type 36 light cruisers domestically, and in 1938 and 1939, respectively, two were started at the Leningrad Red Banner Shipyard and the Nikolaev Shipyard. Then, on the eve of the outbreak of war in 1940, two more improved Type 39 light cruisers were ordered. A total of 36 light patrol families have ten members.

With the entry into service in large batches of Type 36 light cruisers and Type 35 heavy cruisers. The Red Navy's lack of cruisers was finally lifted, and from 1940 onwards, the Red Navy finally became an effective ocean-going combat force, making outstanding contributions in the later World War II.

Of course, this chapter is not just about the Raiders and the Brooklyn class, but as the Americans remain unmoved by the British cries, the international standing of the British Empire is becoming more and more awkward. In particular, when the British were ready to join forces with France to exclude the Soviets in Europe, they received only a verbal response from the latter.

Why is it just a verbal response? Quite simply, the French were also trading with the USSR at this time, for example, in the field of aero engines. The transaction between the two parties was quite pleasant. Since 1934, France began to export a large number of 12Y series water-cooled engines and Landis series air-cooled engines to the Soviet Union. And in the field of automobiles, with the determination of the Soviet Union to introduce the technology of de-pulling. Czechoslovakia, as the younger brother of France, also made a lot of money with a piece of silver.

Anyway, both the French and the Czechs felt comfortable with the deal, and there was no intention of stopping. Even after the British expressed their demand for France to stop military trade with the Soviet Union, the French were furious and quibbled about something: "We are not engaged in military trade with the Soviet Union, we are cooperating with the Finnish North Industries Corporation." What does this have to do with the Soviet Union? ”

This gives the British popularity, not to mention the seven prongs of smoke, but also the five internal burning. Who does not know that NORINCO is the vest of the USSR. But the French shamelessly used this as a shield, so that the British had no way at all.

In desperation, the British could only put pressure on Finland to put the Finnish government in charge of the increasingly rampant North Industries Company. So how did the Finns reply?

The Finnish government just cried, saying that we really can't control the Vyborg region, which is a special administrative region, and they don't listen to the central government at all, they really can't help it, and even hope that the British will understand more.

So is there really nothing the Finnish government can do? There are reasons for this, but the more important reason is that NORINCO is extremely important to Finland. First of all, because of the existence of the Special Administrative Region, the direct conflict and contradictions between Finland and the Soviet Union no longer exist, which is essential for Finland's security; Second, NORINCO has created a large number of employment opportunities, and even indirectly boosted the economy outside the Special Administrative Region.

Let's put it this way, a large number of Finnish industrial companies are supporting Northern Industries, such as Sisu Automobile and Parthian Defense Group. Not only NORINCO, but also companies including Nokia and Ambrera have led to the vigorous development of Finnish manufacturing. In the past decade, it has made a name for itself in the Nordic field.

Let Finnish politicians sanction their financiers and cut off their financial routes. Just by your Englishman's word? Without the support of real money, Finnish politicians do not like the British at all, anyway, they are perfunctory.

As a result, the British tossed around and suddenly found that unless he came to the door with the army regardless of it, there was nothing he could do with the Soviet Union. So did the British have the idea of fighting a war now?

Surely not, if the British were not afraid of war, they would not have engaged in brain-dead appeasement before World War II. Essentially, the British Empire today has nothing to do with the Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, and Japan, except for the bitterness of bullying and bullying the colonies.

The only thing the British dare to do is to wave their fists and pretend to scare a few words, and what if they can't be scared? Then find a way to sell the interests of the partner in exchange for the other party's compromise. Among them, the worst seller was Czechoslovakia.

So after a series of diplomatic efforts, but no progress was made, the British had no choice but to give in, and began to change their previous aggressive attitude towards the Soviet Union and began to speak softly. Promised that as long as the Soviet Union stopped directly intervening in the Spanish Civil War, as long as the Soviet Union returned to the framework of the League of Nations, it would be possible to talk about it!

According to the British thinking, since they could not scare the Soviet Union, they could only fool the Soviet Union. The idea is to tell the Soviet Union not to rush so much, so that the Soviet Union obediently returns to the framework of the League of Nations, and if necessary, it can meet the slightest request of the Soviet Union.

And what is this so-called little request? That is, the British promised to cede their naval patrols to the Soviet Union, while the Royal Navy went south to squeeze in with the French.

The Politburo, including Li Xiaofeng, burst into laughter at the British mention, the British are treating them as idiots, and now without the permission of the British and the League of Nations, the Red Navy can operate extensively along the coast of Spain, but with the permission of the League of Nations, it can only nest in the northern corner. You are asking for food when we are, can you pass it as you like? (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you for the second kill of potatoes, hzwangdd and comrades Juventus!