Chapter 483: Slap in the Face (Part 2)
After Keitel left, Hoffmann invited Speer to consider the issue of compensation for Japan.
"The Japanese are not satisfied with so many favorable conditions, so they still want compensation?" Speer frowned upon hearing this.
"Horikoshi has just lost 2 battleships and 1 aircraft carrier. They are all capital ships. They have an impact on the combat effectiveness of the combined fleet and will also affect the Indian strategy. In view of the results of this battle, it is very good, especially the sinking of 5 American aircraft carriers. The results of the battle have been confirmed. I think the Japanese should be given some extra rewards." Hoffman said deeply, "We don't care about the loss of the battleship, and he didn't say anything. He wants the Skyhawk aircraft carrier, but I can't agree to it."
The two sides had negotiated terms before the Battle of Panama, and Germany gave a relatively generous reward:
1. Germany dispatched 4 marine brigades to cooperate with Japan in launching the Indian offensive, and the combined fleet assisted Germany in completing the Madagascar landing campaign;
2. To compensate for the possible losses of aircraft to the combined fleet in the Atlantic and Madagascar battles, an additional 500 carrier-based aircraft will be provided, reasonably matched according to Bf-219, He-218, Ju-98 and Ar-372, and an additional 200 joint attack aircraft will be provided. ;
3. Assist Japan in training carrier-based aircraft pilots, with a maximum number of 500;
4. Assist the United Fleet in acquiring the Béarn.
"In terms of aircraft, I decided to give 300 more aircraft, and the severely damaged Marine Brigade will also be replaced to ensure that the number of four brigades will not shrink, but the aircraft carrier really cannot be replaced."
After thinking for a moment, Speer said: "It is not impossible to have an aircraft carrier. We can use Italian ships to top it."
Hoffman waved his hand and said: "This won't work! Let alone whether Mussolini can agree to it, the Harrier is of great use in my plan. In the future, the Navy will only have these few aircraft carriers available, and one less one will be a problem." It greatly reduces the combat effectiveness.”
"It's not the Harrier. The Harrier won't be commissioned until early June. It will take at least July until it completes sea trials and officially joins the fleet. The Japanese can't wait until then. I'm talking about the Bolzano light aircraft carrier."
Only then did Hoffman realize that he had just ordered the launch of the "Tornado" plan a few days ago to prepare to attack Madagascar. In addition to 2 Japanese light aircraft carriers and the battleship Musashi, Italy sent the main naval force, except 3 Japanese light aircraft carriers and the battleship Musashi. Apart from the Veneto-class battleships, the most eye-catching one is the Bolzano light aircraft carrier - although there is no Italian pilot on board.
"Can Mussolini agree?"
"Of course it's not possible to give it away for free, but it is possible to exchange benefits or equipment." Speer analyzed. "He will get the Harrier aircraft carrier immediately, and then this year, two other comprehensive aircraft carriers converted from fast cruise ships will be put into service. This one To be honest, the number of Italian carrier-based aircraft pilots is far from enough, and the three aircraft carriers may not be able to recruit qualified crews by then, let alone. Don’t talk about adding another one.”
"How is that possible?" Hoffman asked strangely, "Doesn't the Italian Navy also have sea aviation? It established an aviation team earlier than us."
Speer sighed: "Yes, just because the Italian Navy now has an independent aviation force, it cannot recruit carrier-based aircraft pilots."
It seems that the Italian Air Force and the German Air Force are the party's basic base, but the problem is that the status of the Italian Navy and the German Navy is different:
Germany is a traditional continental country. The ranks of the Wehrmacht of the Third Reich are the Army first, the Air Force second, and the Navy third. The Navy is in the weakest position. Therefore, whether it is the Army or the Air Force, it is important to transfer their respective units into the Navy. Don't worry, but you can take advantage of the situation and intervene in naval affairs.
Italy is a traditional maritime country, with the navy ranking first, the air force second, and the army ranking third. Under such circumstances, the air force would not be willing to help the navy, which is already stronger than itself. Why would pilots transfer to Hainan Airlines? Didn’t the navy even eat the meat from the belt? Moreover, the Italian Air Force is not very powerful. After Germany provided a large number of aircraft and equipment, its total number of front-line combat aircraft has not exceeded 2,500. Excluding some of the old models, it is difficult for the number of cutting-edge aircraft to exceed 2,000.
"What about the carrier-based aircraft pilots they trained on Socotra?"
"This is the only pilot in the Italian Navy who can play a major role. I can't guarantee whether the next batch of Italian naval pilots will be able to achieve this level. If Japanese carrier-based aircraft pilots are a fraction of their American counterparts, then Italian Only a fraction of Japan’s,” Speer said with a smile, “Albert (Kesselring) joked with me that he didn’t think the Italians could provide enough pilots and ground crews, so that’s why Mussolini had them. Give the Skyhawk to us readily. Of course, the Navy hopes to see this the most. At worst, it will send our pilots on board. "
Hoffman spread his hands. Italy had its own national conditions, so he had no choice.
"I can come forward to negotiate an exchange." Speer explained. "Mussolini has always wanted to get Tiger tanks. In the past few months, he has sent me several telegrams to ask for them. I heard that the Japanese and Iranians It became even more urgent after I got it.”
"It's not that I don't want to give it, but giving it to the Italians is a complete waste." Hoffman sighed.
"But Mussolini himself didn't think so. He still expected to use the Tiger to show off on the African continent, or he might as well have stayed in Rome to serve as a guard of honor."
"I hope they won't be captured by the Americans." Hoffman finally showed a helpless expression, "How much does he want?"
"No more, no less than 2 battalions - at least to overwhelm the Iranians."
"The price of two battalions is more expensive than the Bolzano, but I can agree. Just two heavy armored battalions. If you want, it's half a month's production. Just give it to him! Mussolini also needs to recharge. It's just a facade thing." Hoffman laughed, "This time the Combined Fleet lost a number of warships. It is estimated that more people can be freed up to drive the transport ships. Prepare a few more ships and provide them with supplies, and add an additional 50,000 tons. Special steel, let Japan taste some benefits, so that it will actively come forward next time.”
"Mussolini and Pétain were the most active in this matter."
"Haha, can they not be active!"
When Hoffmann asked the United Fleet to "help", he promised to deliver 1 million tons of ship tonnage to Japan. In fact, Germany's own merchant fleet was confiscated by the Allies after World War I (as retaliation for the sinking of the German navy in Operation Rainbow), and the country itself had no With so much merchant ship tonnage, even if there were any, it would not be able to break through the British blockade on the North Sea. Therefore, they tried their best to search for Mediterranean countries. The main targets were France, Italy, Spain, and Greece, among which France was the main force. The package agreement stipulated that France must provide services to Germany. 50 will ships will be delivered as compensation.
But Speer obviously couldn't wait for the French to build the Will Wheel, so he discounted these futures at a ratio of 1:1.1 - whenever France delivers a qualified merchant ship of 10,000 tons (a single ship has a load capacity of more than 2,000 tons and a maximum speed of no less than 12 knots, and the ship is no more than 25 years old), the compensation claim for the 11,000-ton Voluntary will be reduced accordingly, which is greatly beneficial to France:
On the one hand, French ship owners can exchange for a 11,000-ton ship by handing over a 10,000-ton merchant ship. The ship has a load capacity of 14,000 tons. Compared with ships of several thousand tons, the cost of transportation is lower, and it is also taking advantage of the trend. Old ships were replaced with new ones; on the other hand, the construction of these new ships boosted domestic production and employment in France, which was of great benefit to maintaining stability - something would happen if you were idle.
It is also a win-win for Germany - instead of waiting for the long delivery period of futures, it is better to get enough old ships at once. When the merchant fleet adopts unified freighters in the future, supply and maintenance will be very convenient, except of course In addition to obtaining a batch of free ships from France, both Italy and Spain are waiting for German shipbuilders to use Italian shipyards to build Volvos and replace them. Therefore, the three Mediterranean countries of France, Italy and Spain are flocking to it, and even Portugal is also flocking to it - who doesn't want to Take this opportunity to exchange your old boat for a new one with more and better ones?
"Roosevelt boasted on the radio two days ago that every time we build an aircraft carrier in the future, he will build 4, 6 or even 8 aircraft carriers to deal with it. What do you think of this?"
"Americans only have the ability to brag!" Speer dismissed this. "There is no doubt that the United States' shipbuilding capabilities are better than ours, but it is impossible to say that its aircraft carrier construction capabilities are several times that of ours. Not counting the Harrier." , this year we still have 5-6 regular aircraft carriers available for service (Ise, Hyuga, Dunkirk, 2 Italian fast cruise ship converted aircraft carriers, Jean-Bart construction period is scheduled to early 1944), these are fleet aircraft carrier level, not Say 8 times, 6 times, 4 times, can he come up with 24 ships? "
"In addition to this year, there are two auxiliary aircraft carriers Elbe and Jader in China that can be completed. In Italy, there is also an auxiliary aircraft carrier Joffre that can be completed early next year. This is another three ships."
The Elbe is an aircraft carrier modified from the cruise ship Potsdam. It is mainly imitated from the Chitose and Chiyoda to become a water machine carrier. The Yad was rebuilt from the cruise ship Gneisenau, which is the same class ship Scharnhorst. The cruise ship has been converted into the Condor aircraft carrier in Japan. Germany has obtained all the reconstruction drawings, saving a lot of design time, and is preparing to convert it into a training aircraft carrier; the Joffre is a semi-finished product towed back from Toulon, and the French man-made aircraft carrier is more capable than The Germans were not reliable yet - the Zeppelin at least had Akagi as a model for imitation, but the Joffre was completely groping around.
It would take a lot of effort to convert this ship into a serious aircraft carrier, and Japanese designers were scratching their heads. However, the use of the Commander Test inspired everyone to prepare to convert it into a supplementary aircraft carrier—— A supplementary aircraft carrier with a speed of up to 33 knots that can fully keep up with fleet operations, and its capacity is not small. The hangar can accommodate 48 aircraft, and the deck can hold an additional 16 aircraft. If fully loaded and used as an aircraft transport ship, the overall capacity can exceed 100 of them can be pulled out to confuse people when necessary.