Chapter 478 Shock (Part 2)

Seeing everyone's expressions change drastically, Roosevelt smiled confidently: "Gentlemen, don't worry about me. I have experienced this kind of thing many times. I believe I will be able to get through it safely. You can do whatever you are supposed to do. I am not good at fighting, but You’re not good at arguing with politicians.”

Everyone finally showed a rare smile.

"Another question, after General Fletcher is martyred, who will take over the position of commander of the Atlantic Fleet aircraft carrier group?"

It is generally believed within the Navy that based on the actual situation of the two battles, Spruance's command level is higher than Fletcher's for three reasons:

First, Spruance's aircraft carrier formation was jointly attacked by German aircraft carriers and Azores land-based attack aircraft, and was in a weak position. The aircraft carrier formation commanded by Fletcher not only had a numerical advantage, but also had land-based cooperation. In a strong position, but the results and progress of the battle are not as good as the former;

Second, Spruance lost 4 aircraft carriers, but sank at least one enemy aircraft carrier, and sank another. This time, Fletcher lost 5 aircraft carriers in total, but failed to sink any. An enemy aircraft carrier - the sunken Falcon - was finally credited to the Army Air Force;

Third, although Spruance had exhausted all its aircraft carriers, it at least retained basically all the naval officers and soldiers. However, this group of retained naval officers and soldiers was basically wiped out by Fletcher this time - the entire army could not be destroyed. Very possible, but the number of people who escaped via lifeboats was certainly very small.

If Fletcher comes back alive, the treatment waiting for him will probably be serious, but now that everyone is dead, naturally no one will hold on to him. Of course, what everyone intentionally or unintentionally overlooked is that Spruance was fighting the German Navy, while Fletcher was fighting the Japanese Navy (the German aircraft carriers were also commanded by the Japanese). It was actually very clear which one was higher and which was lower.

Spruance had just been questioned by the two houses and served as a sinecure. There was too much resistance to reactivating him immediately, and he would be considered a child's play by the members. In desperation, General Li Hai and General Jin mentioned two names respectively. Hai mentioned Mark Mitchell, and Admiral Jin mentioned Turner. The problem is that both Mitchell and Turner have many shortcomings: on the one hand, they are both major generals, and their military ranks are not enough. Of course, the number of aircraft carriers is now small, and the use of Commanding troops by a major general is not a big problem; on the other hand, there are flaws in the resumes of the two. Although Turner is good as chief of staff, he has no actual experience in commanding an aircraft carrier. Although Mitchell is a veteran aircraft carrier commander, , but his performance in commanding the Hornet during the Battle of Midway was mediocre. After the battle, he was transferred from the Hornet to command land-based naval navigation in the South Pacific.

Li Hai knew what Admiral King was thinking: nominating Turner was just a cover-up. He actually wanted to transfer Halsey to the Atlantic Fleet, but was unable to speak directly. As for the Pacific Fleet, he wanted Nimitz to personally take charge of it because Nimitz He understood aircraft carrier operations, but Admiral Ingersoll did not.

Roosevelt also set his sights on Nimitz, hoping that he could mention a name. If Halsey was mentioned, he would immediately agree - he and Admiral King had a tacit understanding on this matter. But Nimitz, who had never spoken, mentioned an unfamiliar name: "I would like to mention a candidate, Admiral Andrew Brown Cunningham."

"Admiral Cunningham of the Royal Navy?" Roosevelt recalled the name. "Didn't he be dismissed by Churchill because of the defeat in the Indian Ocean Battle?"

"In fact, this decision was unfair to him. The Indian Ocean battle was a surprise attack by Japan. No one expected the main force of the combined fleet to suddenly appear. Moreover, the balance of forces between the two sides was obviously unbalanced. The failure cannot be blamed on him." Nimitz argued, "But this general was innovative in the tactics and command used by aircraft carriers. He presided over the Taranto surprise attack - which was later learned by Yamamoto Isoroku and dealt a fatal blow to Pearl Harbor. When he was in the Mediterranean He also repeatedly defeated the Italian navy and was not present when the Mediterranean fleet was defeated. His military rank also speaks for itself."

"It sounds like he should be a good general, but doesn't Winston understand his value?"

"The problem is that damn politics." Nimitz sighed, "Cunningham refused to admit his mistakes. He refused to take responsibility for the defeat in the Indian Ocean War. He believed it was..."

"Well, this is a general who is a bit different." Roosevelt sighed. "Even if he is as good as you said, given the current relationship with Britain, we should not destroy Winston's Prestige - in the position of British Prime Minister, he will be in a difficult position."

"If you agree, I can write a letter to persuade the general. I believe there is no deep-rooted conflict between him and Prime Minister Churchill. Besides, in order to defend the free world, what does it matter if you suffer some personal grievances?" Nimi What I said before made General Jin frown a little, but he thought about it in the second half of the sentence: There are generals everywhere who have lost battles. If they lose a battle once, they can no longer be used. I'm afraid there will be no generals who can lead troops. ——After all, no one is a victorious general.

Roosevelt thought about it and understood Nimitz's potential intention: Britain handed over all its aircraft carriers to the command of the United States, but all of them were sunk. This was difficult to explain to the British anyway, so they chose the British as the new aircraft carriers. Fleet Commander would help relieve the pressure on Churchill - using Cunningham could better unite the Royal Navy and reflect the intentions of the Atlantic Combined Fleet.

"Do you two have any opinions on this choice?"

Li Hai shook his head. Cunningham was definitely more advantageous than the Mitchell he nominated, but he still asked with some concern: "I heard that he broke his leg during the last retreat. Will it affect the command?"

"The commander of Japan's mobile fleet, Tsukahara Tsukahara, lost his left hand. It was Horitiji who made him take this position against all the odds."

After hearing this addition, everyone nodded. This sentence was more powerful than any excuse. What happened to the broken leg? Even with his broken hand, he still commanded the fleet with great authority.

"I have a supplementary suggestion." Admiral King said, "Let Spruance serve as Chief of Staff to General Cunningham. He cannot be idle."

"Can."

After the commander is confirmed, the next thing to worry about is the aircraft carrier. Although the Japanese combined fleet is expected to return to the Far East soon, Germany and Italy will soon have three fleet aircraft carriers. Britain and the United States will only have two fleet aircraft carriers and two fleets in the Atlantic Ocean. There are only two light aircraft carriers available, but the force is far insufficient.

"The fleet aircraft carriers that can be commissioned next this year include the USS Hornet and the USS Wasp (Essex class), but they will not be available until after October, and then there will be the USS Franklin (Essex class) at the end of December. This year we There is still hope to obtain three fleet aircraft carriers, and the remaining ones will not be commissioned until next year." Admiral Jin reluctantly told the truth, "I thought the aircraft carriers were enough, even after the losses in the South Pacific naval battle, but now. It seems not enough.”

Since October 1942, the United States has started construction of new Essex-class aircraft carriers at an average rate of more than one per month, including:

Franklin in October, to be completed by the end of 1943;

Ticonderoga in November, to be completed in March 1944;

Construction started on the USS Hancock and USS Bennington in December 1942 and January 1943 respectively, and was expected to be completed in May 1944;

February and March were the Bonhomme Richard and Randolph, completed about June 1944;

After the failure of Spruance in April, the Navy General Council started construction of three aircraft carriers: Shangri-La, Lake Champlain, and Antietam, requiring completion by September 1944.

Admiral King gave the shipyard a fatal order: to send additional manpower to implement three shifts. In any case, an Essex class must be completed in 17 months. The Franklin was even required to be launched within 15 months.

After introducing these, he added: "Since another batch of Cleveland-class cruisers will be used to build the Independence-class aircraft carrier, it is expected that as the Essex ships will be commissioned one after another, the accompanying light aircraft carriers will be put into use. But there are some things we can only Give up, for example, the design of the Midway-class heavy armored aircraft carrier (more than 40,000 tons) was originally completed. Because it took a long time and was expected to take more than 30 months, it was decided to seal the drawings and no longer build them. The construction period was only 15-18 years. months of Essex class.”

Everyone present at the meeting still felt that this was not fast enough. They did not expect that the construction of the Japanese and German Yunlong-class would take 18-22 months. The displacement and aircraft carrying capacity after completion were only 60% of the Essex-class, while the Japanese and German Yunlong-class After Germany each started construction on four projects at once, it was unable to continue due to resource constraints and labor problems.

"In addition..." Admiral Jin said after hesitating, "Due to the heavy losses of the aircraft carrier, the Navy General Committee decided to cancel the Currituck-class water aircraft carrier under construction after emergency discussions and prepare to imitate the Independence-class and transform it into a light aircraft carrier. for supplement.”

The Currituck class has a scheduled displacement of 14,000 tons. Due to its relatively weak defense, its actual volume and space exceed that of the Independence class. The modified Currituck class will be a separate class and is expected to have up to 38-40 carrier-based aircraft. , the displacement is still maintained at more than 14,000 tons, a total of 3 ships, and they will basically be completed before the end of 1943. Admiral Jin also suggested that several Alaska-class large cruisers (equivalent to battle cruisers defined by other countries) be raised in priority. Japan initially used the Kongo-class to escort mobile ships. After all the heavy cruisers of the U.S. Navy were sunk, a decent With no escort warships available, Admiral Kim decided to use the fast Alaska class as the bodyguard of the mobile fleet.

"I completely agree with these suggestions." Roosevelt said through gritted teeth. "Starting from next month, if there is no problem with the slipway, Essex is prepared to build 2 ships per month and 24 ships a year. I will ask Congress to find a solution for funding issues. United States At critical moments, everyone should show courage and responsibility.”