Chapter 477 Shock (Part 2)
ps: I have something to do today, so the update is late, sorry...
There was a gloomy atmosphere in the headquarters in Washington. Everyone lowered their heads, not knowing what to do next: early in the morning, they received bad news again. The Puerto Rico Air Force Base was destroyed by a combination of bombs and artillery shells. This was the second time that Puerto Rico was destroyed. A devastating blow.
"Gentlemen, we should be thankful that the enemy did not try to land in Puerto Rico..." Roosevelt racked his brains to reduce the pressure on these senior generals. "If they gain a foothold in the Caribbean, we will never have peace."
Marshall forced out a smile that was uglier than crying.
"Another good news is that the main force of Admiral Ingersoll's battleship fleet has retreated to a safe zone. They will temporarily anchor in the Gulf of Mexico and then return to the east coast." Li Hai then added, "It is finally a blessing in misfortune. , we lost the aircraft carrier formation, but at least we retained the essence of the battleship force."
Secretary of State Hull interjected: "Prime Minister Churchill sent a telegram of inquiry. He was deeply shocked by the losses and conditions of the battle. He is also under great pressure at present. There are constant calls for peace negotiations with Germany, but he stated that he would Keep fighting the Nazis."
"Speaking of aircraft carriers, after the sinking of the Illustrious, did the Royal Navy no longer have a fleet aircraft carrier?" Roosevelt asked.
Admiral Jin replied: "We urgently contacted the British side and learned that they also have a fleet aircraft carrier, the Unicorn, which was just completed a few days ago."
The Unicorn was originally a maintenance aircraft carrier in the Royal Navy. Although the appearance is exactly the same as the fleet aircraft carrier, the hangar was originally designed as a maintenance workshop, and the speed was relatively slow, with a maximum speed of 24 knots. However, due to the Indian Ocean Battle, The British lost several aircraft carriers, and the Royal Navy, which was in urgent need of treatment, built the Unicorn into a real aircraft carrier. On the basis of the general structure of the ship body having been determined, it temporarily strengthened the power and modified the structure. The construction was completed on the basis of a delay of one and a half months.
The modified Unicorn has a displacement of more than 17,000 tons, and its armor defense level is not as good as that of the Glorious. However, after being tethered to the deck, the maximum number of standing carrier aircraft can reach 66. This number is much larger than that of the Glorious class. After the power is strengthened, it can At 28 knots, it can barely be considered a fast aircraft carrier.
Roosevelt smiled bitterly: "So, the British still have aircraft carriers available in the Atlantic next month, but we don't have any?"
"That's not entirely true. The USS Cowpens (Independence-class) can be put into service in 10 days, and the USS Bunker Hill (Essex-class) can be put into service at the end of this month at the earliest. However, these two warships were originally scheduled to support the British side. , are we..." Admiral Jin did not continue, but the meaning in his eyes clearly told Roosevelt - you know!
Roosevelt waved his hand: "We can't delay any longer, otherwise Prime Minister Churchill will have a hard time getting through. I don't think it's better than this. Since the Royal Navy now has a fleet aircraft carrier, we will provide the Cowpens light aircraft carrier to the United Kingdom. Bunker Hill It will be used by itself...and will be provided to the UK after the completion of the subsequent Essex-class aircraft carrier."
"Okay then..." Admiral Jin was obviously a little reluctant, but now Britain and the United States were inseparable brothers. If Britain really surrendered, the United States would be completely finished, so he could only admit it while pinching his nose.
"To compensate for the delayed delivery of fleet aircraft carriers, we will first provide 10 escort aircraft carriers and sufficient carrier-based aircraft to the British side. All fighter jets will use F6F. Is it difficult to do this?"
"A little bit, but I can overcome it."
Although no one mentioned the postponement or cancellation of the A+ plan, everyone tacitly understood that the A+ plan could not be implemented in a short period of time, and in view of the problems exposed in this battle, the A+ plan must undergo major revisions. , Turner has accepted the task and is preparing to resubmit it for discussion after upgrading it to Plan B next month. As a result, the escort carriers originally planned for the A+ plan can be freed up and provided to the British side. Admiral Jin made some silent calculations and decided to give 5 ships in May and 5 more in June. This progress can basically be guaranteed; the Valorant (Essex class) can be put into service in late June. At worst, this aircraft carrier will be given to British.
"But having only one aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Fleet is obviously not enough." Li Hai pondered for a moment and then said, "Should we consider withdrawing the Pacific Fleet?"
Roosevelt turned his attention to Admiral King. The latter did not clearly state whether it was yes or no. He only stated one fact: "The Monterey has four weeks to complete, and the Capote (both Independence-class ships) will be completed in early June." The Pacific Fleet is currently resting in Australia. Now that the Panama Canal channel is interrupted, it will take at least 2 months for them to return to the east coast by going around South America.”
The implication of Admiral Kim's words is obvious: it is not cost-effective to withdraw the Pacific Fleet from the Far East. By the time it returns at the end of June, there will be another Essex and two Independence-class ships available in the mainland, and the Pacific Fleet is now But the only ones that could be used were the Essex and Saratoga.
"Well, let's not withdraw. The situation in the Far East is also very important." Roosevelt sighed, "At present, it seems that we can only take a defensive position in the Atlantic direction."
If the defense is adopted, the defense of the Caribbean region will become more and more important. Marshall was soon assigned the task of strengthening the strategic points in the Caribbean. In the future, Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico and other places will have to strengthen their defenses. Sufficient aircraft and land forces will be deployed. According to Roosevelt's idea, at least one division and more than 200 aircraft will be deployed in each of these regions.
"As for the possibility of repairing the Panama Canal, what is your assessment of the prospects?"
"The situation is more serious than expected." Admiral King sighed, "The Japanese sank two battleships in one breath, and paralyzed all the canals and locks in the canal. Experts believe that recovery requires four steps: the first step is to clear the earth buried on the warships; the second step is to float or tow away the two warships; the third step is to clear the remaining earth under the water; the fourth step is to dredge and build the locks again... The overall construction period is expected to last more than 48 months, of which towing or floating the two warships is the difficulty. Their combined tonnage exceeds 80,000 tons. "
Roosevelt frowned: "Are there any other ways?"
"Another way is to open another canal near the Gatun Locks, about 10 kilometers long. Exploration takes 12-14 months, and the construction period takes 24-30 months, about three and a half years. If an extraordinary construction speed is adopted, it may be compressed to three years. "
"Okay, we will hold a special meeting next month to discuss this issue in detail. "Roosevelt smiled bitterly, "The Senate and the House of Representatives informed me that I need to accept secret questioning from both houses in three days, and I must pass the questioning to obtain the subsequent construction budget. "