Chapter 166 Battle of the Black Sea (3)

At dawn on November 3, at an observation point outside the Bosporus, the Turkish lookout post Yildire Basturk, who was on duty, suddenly screamed: "Ships! So many ships!"

"Don't make such a fuss. When will there be no ships in the strait?" his bleary-eyed companion scolded him. "It disturbs people's dreams so early in the morning. It's true."

"No, look at the warships. They are all warships, and they even fly the Greek flag."

"Greece?" My companion was surprised, and after looking through a high-powered telescope, he was amazed. "Sure enough, one, two, three... Oh my god, 19 warships. Is Greece ready to attack?"

"Quick, quick, sound the emergency alarm."

The emergency alarm sounded soon, and everyone was alarmed. Looking at the staggering number of warships outside the strait, everyone felt unbelievable: This huge fleet included battleships of 20,000 to 30,000 tons, as well as 7 -8,000-ton cruisers and 1-2,000-ton destroyers. Their strength has completely overwhelmed Turkey's weak navy. You must know that Turkey now only has one old-fashioned HMS Severity (the German battlecruiser Goben in World War I). ) to support the scene.

"Has Greece declared war on us?" a soldier asked tremblingly.

"No... at least no notification." His companion's reaction seemed to be no better than his. His whole voice was trembling. I don't know if it was the cold wind in the morning or the fear in his heart.

Soon, more than half of the soldiers' fear dissipated, because the fleet on the opposite side waved the flag "Application for passage through the strait". Hakan Tiraf is the top commander of the Strait Defense Zone. On the one hand, he ordered all the forts to prepare for emergencies. On the other hand, he was preparing to send people to understand the situation of the other party - since the other party had issued an "application approved" in a formal manner. He had to check and process the news.

"Send a traffic boat to inquire about the situation and find out what's going on..." He told his men to himself, "If there is danger, let them handle it themselves."

The news from the traffic boat half an hour later made him laugh and cry: "Report, this is the Greek fleet, preparing to visit Bulgaria. The fleet commander attached Greek official documents and hopes that we will release them in accordance with the convention."

"Hell, we have been neighbors with the Greeks for hundreds of years. Why didn't I know when the Greeks suddenly had such a huge naval fleet?"

Fortunately, his chief of staff was not stupid. While wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he was flipping through the "Jane's Battleship Identification Manual" desperately. After comparing the outline with the patterns in the manual, he finally found the clue. He exclaimed: "This is The battlecruiser Strasbourg, the old battleship Ocean and the pre-dreadnought Condorcet, the heavy cruisers Corbert, Algiers, Duplec... Oh my God, these are all French. warship."

"How could a French warship fly the flag of the Greek Navy and come to Turkey?" Hakan Tirav was puzzled.

Yes, this is the main force of the French Toulon fleet that Hoffman racked his brains to get from Pétain and Darlan. Although he got a lot of French warships including supporting facilities and equipment, but like the battlecruiser It is obvious that injured ships such as Dunkirk and Provence cannot be brought out for use, so they can only stay in Italy to continue repairs. In particular, the French battle cruiser Dunkirk and Provence battleship have been repaired halfway, but due to lack of resources and worker laziness, they have not been completed. The wounds left by the British during the ballista operation are still clearly visible. .

This time, both Hoffmann and Redl paid enough attention to the maintenance of French warships in Italian shipyards. They not only dispatched workers from domestic shipyards, but also prepared to allocate a large amount of materials and equipment. According to the assessment of the Naval Command, the Dunkirk and Provence must undergo major modifications if they are to be put back into service. Considering that the Provence is an old ship with a history of 30 years, Hoffman finally gave up on the ship. The idea of ​​carrying out major surgery only requires repairing it to the point where it can be used. As for the newer Dunkirk, a comprehensive transformation and repair plan has been drawn up:

First of all, the ridiculously funny main guns on the warships (2 4-mounted 330mm guns) can no longer be used (some of the guns were damaged by the British army during the ballista operation). First, they must be replaced with 283mm guns made in Germany. gun (same as the Scharnhorst), because neither the Italian nor the German navy is equipped with 330mm guns of this caliber. Once the shells obtained from France are finished, if you want to continue to use them, you will have to open a new production line ( The French made their own artillery shells (who knows whether they will be effective when the time comes), so it would be more reliable to simply replace them with the familiar 283mm naval guns (2-seat, 3-gun). As for the 330-caliber artillery shells in the Dunkirk's inventory, all the 330-caliber shells were taken by the Strasbourg when it was overhauled and replenished in the Italian port. Although the 283mm caliber main gun to be replaced looks a little less powerful than the 330mm, its firing speed is much higher than that of the French gun. If measured in unit time, the amount of ammunition delivered is not inferior to the original level (the factor of 2 fewer guns is not taken into account) within). Moreover, the artillery level after the replacement is more realistic, because the Dunkirk is only at the 25,000-ton level. The installation of 330mm is a cannon for a small ship, which is an inappropriate accumulation of force. What's more terrible is that the French also used all the main guns. They were all piled on the front deck, exacerbating the top-heavy situation. After the modification, the overall weight has been reduced a lot, which will help move the warship's center of gravity downward and improve its stability.

Secondly, the strange caliber secondary guns at the rear of the warship were all removed (1 secondary gun). The 130mm caliber is also a unique weapon of the French Navy, which is not compatible with Germany and Italy, so it can only be ruthlessly cut off. The Navy originally wanted to install 150mm caliber secondary guns (disassembled from the Zeppelin aircraft carrier) in the original position, but Hoffman waved his hand and said that these secondary guns were not needed. Under his instruction, the rear deck was designed to be completely emptied and free up space to install the aviation deck platform (itself part of the horizontal armor protection). The overall length of the Dunkerque is 215 meters. Because the main guns and the bridge are both in the front, the length can reach about 105 meters after the rear deck is emptied and the aviation platform is installed. If it is a newly tested Bf-119, it can carry 32 aircraft (28 + 4 spares). If the combination of Me-155 and Ju-87C is considered, it can carry about 28 aircraft (22 + 6 spares).

This transformation is certainly not a whim of Hoffman. On the contrary, he thought of the Ise-class battleship that was transformed into an aviation battleship. Whether from the overall length of the warship (Ise-class 209 meters, Dunkerque-class 215 meters) or from the deployment of the superstructure (Ise-class has a total of 6 main guns across the entire ship, while Dunkerque-class has only 2 and all deployed in the front), Dunkerque has more room for modification than Ise-class. Considering that both Germany and Italy lack aircraft carriers, it is also practical to transform it into an aviation battlecruiser.

Finally, the power system needs to be repaired on a large scale. The Dunkerque battlecruiser is a product of the 1930s, with a designed speed of 29.5 knots. The French boiler level is still acceptable, but the damaged parts must be thoroughly repaired with German products. On the one hand, the weight is reduced, and on the other hand, the power system is strengthened. It is expected that after this new modification, due to the weight reduction, the maximum speed of the ship can reach 31 knots, which is barely enough for a fast battle cruise (although it is the lowest limit). In Hoffman's mind, the ship will be a weapon accompanying the aircraft carrier in the future, and the speed must be fast enough.

Raeder estimated that the overall construction period will be at least 6 months, and German workers must be the main force. Don't expect Italians to do it in a year. Hoffman gritted his teeth and agreed.

Theodore Krank, a German Navy rear admiral who is currently in charge of Strasbourg, another ship of the same class in Dunkirk, is completely unaware of this major operation of the Dunkirk class. He is currently receiving Turkish officials who come to inquire.

"Excuse me, what is your fleet doing through the strait?"

"I am on a friendly visit to Bulgaria under the order of Greek Prime Minister Georges Solacoglu..."

"But these are not Greek Navy warships, they are all French."

"They used to be, but not now." Major General Crank said proudly, "These are French debt repayment materials, which have been transferred to Greece with the consent of the German head of state. Prime Minister Georges Solacoglu specially arranged a friendly visit abroad to test the fleet's navigation capabilities."

The Turks finally figured out the whole story of this navy. This is the fleet that the Germans obtained from the French a few days ago. As for the transfer to Greece, it is completely an excuse, but the problem is that the Greek government is currently controlled by Germany. If Turkey asks, it will not dare to say no - have you seen that official document? That is the endorsement of the Greek government.

Now it was Turkey's turn to be in trouble. According to the Montreux Convention signed on July 20, 1936, if Turkey was a neutral country during the war, warships of the warring countries were not allowed to pass through the strait. There was no doubt that it was in a wartime state, but Greece and Bulgaria (the country did not declare war on the Soviet Union on the pretext of being Slavs, and the head of state agreed) were not belligerent countries. At the same time, Turkey itself was a neutral country, and according to the regulations, it was completely possible to pass through the strait.

This fleet composed of "former French" warships was obviously controlled by the Germans, but the flags on each ship's flagpole were all Greek flags. On the surface, the application to pass through the strait did not violate the regulations at all. Hakan-Tilaf was in a dilemma, but he knew that he had to make a decision as soon as possible. Whether it was the British, American, German or Italian ambassadors, they would soon stand on their own position and express their opinions. Once they got into a long dispute, the pressure that followed would be something that Turkey could not resist.

He did not dare to make a decision on his own, so he had to appease the "Greek" fleet with kind words on the one hand, and quickly report the situation to the top leaders in Istanbul on the other.