Chapter 1089 Missiles in the Atlantic Ocean Part 2
The missile battleship "Gneisenau" had long been in the highest state of combat readiness. When little Hersman boarded the world's most powerful battleship with his luggage, loading operations were being carried out on the missile decks on both sides of the battleship. There were sailors in neat white work clothes and officers in white uniforms working everywhere. The wings and tails of the Reaper 2 TV-guided remote-controlled missiles were folded up (they would automatically pop out when the missile was launched) and were lifted by the mechanical crane and carefully pushed into the flat launch tube. Little Hersman saw the back cover of a missile launch tube being opened, and two sailors in white work clothes half-drilled in, as if connecting some pipeline lines.
Unlike the Reaper 1 missiles mounted on aircraft, the Reaper 2 uses a rocket engine. The main component of the fuel is very dangerous hydrogen peroxide, so it cannot be stored in the missile body for a long time, but is placed in a special storage tank under the missile deck. The storage tank is connected to the missile body with a pipe made of special materials. The missile can only be refueled within 1 hour before launch, and then the missile operator on the ship will manually separate the missile and the pipeline. The whole process cannot go wrong, otherwise a major accident may occur!
At this moment, a Bavarian accent sounded from the ship's broadcast loudspeaker: "Please note that the fleet staff will have a meeting in the fleet operations room in 30 minutes."
Hissman raised his wrist to check the time, and then quickened his pace to the fleet headquarters deck below the stern deck. Because the "Gneisenau" missile battleship was scheduled to serve as the fleet flagship before the major modification, the headquarters deck was expanded during the major modification, and many single rooms were added for the fleet staff (people like Hissman) to live. Hissman found the room with the sign "Second Air Staff" on the door and pushed the door open and walked in. It was found that the room was equipped with a single bed, a desk, a wardrobe and a folding washbasin, and it was very clean. This reminded him of the days on the Yamato battleship and the Taiho aircraft carrier, especially the latter, which was a large armored aircraft carrier comparable to the B41 aircraft carrier, and finally sank near Midway Island...
After settling his luggage, little Hirschmann walked to the headquarters operations room at the bottom of the bridge - this is a combat command center with a very spacious non-interior space and surrounded by thick steel armor.
According to the current thinking of the German Navy, the flagship of the fleet (task force) commander should not participate in the battleship formation decisive battle, so as not to let the enemy knock out the "brain" of the entire fleet with a single shell. Therefore, missile battleships with smaller tonnage and relatively weak main gun firepower will replace the huge H39-class battleships and become the preferred flagships of the 2nd and 3rd fleets.
In order to facilitate command and make room for the missile command post, the four missile battleships removed a main gun turret during the major modification, freeing up space and weight to expand the bridge, add a missile command post and a fleet command center - consisting of a communication center, a headquarters operations room and a command tower.
When little Hersman walked into the headquarters operations room, the fleet staff wearing white officer uniforms and black ties were almost all there. When the fleet's first aviation staff, Lieutenant Colonel Karl Schumann, saw little Hersman coming in, he walked over and handed him a copy of the telegram and said, "Rudolf, the Atlantic Front Command has issued an order, we are going to attack... with the main force of the fleet!"
There are now 47 main battleships in service in the European Combined Fleet (fleet aircraft carriers, battleships, missile battleships, missile cruisers, heavy cruisers), including 15 fleet aircraft carriers (8 Zeppelin-class, 3 Prussian-class, 2 Chaffee-class, 2 Seydlitz-class), 12 battleships (2 Hindenburg class, 2 Bismarck class, 3 Richelieu class, 3 Veneto class, 2 Provence class), 2 missile battleships (Gneisenau and Dunkerque), 2 missile cruisers (Wilhelm II and Maria Theresa), 16 heavy cruisers (3 Admiral Hipper class, 3 Deutschland class, 2 Saffron class, 2 Foch class, 2 Duquesne class, 1 Algeria class, 3 St. Louis class), all belong to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fleets of the European Combined Fleet.
Among them, the 1st Fleet has 6 Zeppelin class (all B41 type) aircraft carriers, 2 Saffron class heavy cruisers and 2 Foch class heavy cruisers, no battleships and missile ships, a total of 10 battleships.
The 2nd Fleet has 1 Zeppelin-class (B39) aircraft carrier, 2 Prussia-class aircraft carriers, 2 Seydlitz-class aircraft carriers, 1 Hindenburg-class battleship, 1 Bismarck-class battleship, 3 Veneto-class battleships, 1 Provence-class battleship, Gneisenau missile battleship, Wilhelm II missile cruiser, 3 Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers and 3 Deutschland-class heavy cruisers, a total of 19 battleships.
The 3rd Fleet uses the remaining 18 battleships.
Now that the main forces of the 1st Fleet have gone to the Pacific, there are only 37 battleships of the 2nd and 3rd Fleets left in the Atlantic.
"Major General Meyer means to form the 20th and 21st task forces, of which the core of the 20th task force is the battleship, and the core of the 21st task force is the aircraft carrier..."
Lieutenant Colonel Schumann, who arrived one step earlier than Hersman Jr., briefly stated Major General Meyer's vision. Because there are three large fleet aircraft carriers and two light fleet aircraft carriers in the 2nd Fleet, Rear Admiral Meyer wants to use them to fight an aviation battle. Use 1 Zeppelin class (Zeppelin), 2 Prussia class (Prussia, Bohemia) and 2 Sesselitz class (Seidelitz, Sekt) as Task Force 21 main force.
"There are only 248 commonly used carrier-based aircraft on the five aircraft carriers Zeppelin, Prussia, Bohemia, Seidlitz and Sekt," little Hersman shook his head and said, "and some of them are left to serve as aircraft carriers. With direct cover, only 180-200 aircraft can be dispatched at one time. It is difficult for the US fleet with shore-based aircraft cover and strong air defense firepower to pose a threat."
Little Hessman paused and then said: "On the Pacific battlefield, the Japanese army suffered great losses because of this, and almost destroyed all the aviation elite. In the Battle of Midway that ended not long ago, Japan's Taiho The air fleets on the three aircraft carriers, Akagi and Kaga, suffered devastating blows due to blind attacks."
Schumann nodded in agreement. Although he was not an ace pilot and had not flown carrier-based aircraft for a few days, he had stayed in the position of flight commander and aviation staff officer for a long time. I still have a very good understanding of the strength of the US aviation force on the Atlantic battlefield.
However, he still smiled and shook his head and said: "Major, our attack methods are much sharper than the Japanese, and we will not suffer as heavy losses as them. And in the Atlantic, we are eager to fight a fleet battle now. So you have to pay some price.”
He paused and then said: "If Admiral Hoffman (Kurt Hoffman) adopts Major General Meyer's suggestion, then you will be sent to the Zeppelin aircraft carrier as Erich. Lieutenant General Bei's aviation staff."
"Will you serve as the aviation staff officer of the task force alone?" Major Hersman was a little overjoyed, and immediately forgot about the fact that the 21st Task Force would probably encounter a tough battle.
Because although he is an expert in aviation warfare - the expert is no longer young, the younger Hessman has the resume of an ace pilot + aircraft carrier flight captain + Pacific battlefield observer, and is familiar with the use of carrier aviation - but his seniority is still higher than that in the navy. It's a bit worse. It's a bit reluctant to serve as the second staff officer, let alone serve as the aviation staff officer of the aircraft carrier force, which has very heavy responsibilities?
While the two were talking, there was a sound of footsteps outside the war room door. Fleet Commander Admiral Kurt Hoffmann and Fleet Deputy Commander (the German army rarely has deputy commanders, but the European Combined Fleet is an exception). Lieutenant General Xi Bei and Fleet Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Meyer walked in quickly.
The staff officers in the war room all stood at attention and gave them a military salute.
Admiral Hoffmann is the "Scharnhorst" battleship that sank in the Port of Heroes in the Azores in the early days of the World War (by the way, this battleship was salvaged after Germany occupied the Azores in 1943 , towed to Saint-Zenard, France, and repaired and modified by France's largest Penholt shipyard, with the goal of converting it into a guided missile ship). After returning to China, Hoffman signed up for the Naval Aviation School and obtained a carrier-based aircraft pilot certificate. But instead of becoming an aircraft carrier captain, he got a "Wilhelm II" class guided missile cruiser. He is now a recognized "missile warfare expert" in the German Navy.
"Everyone, we now announce the order jointly issued by the European Combined Fleet Command and the Atlantic Front Command." Chief of Staff Major General Meyer took out a red mimeographed document and began to read.
"Battle Order No. 165.
1. The 2nd Fleet attacked with its main force to the Atlantic waters near Guyana.
2. No matter what time, day or night, the 2nd Fleet must be ready to engage in a decisive battle immediately.
3. The Second Fleet may encounter the U.S. Navy fleet with superior strength, may encounter bombing by numerous U.S. shore-based and carrier-based aircraft, may encounter U.S. submarines, and may encounter various other forms of attacks. However, the fleet will never retreat and must cooperate with friendly forces to fight to the end.
4. Authorize the 2nd Fleet to use ship-based anti-ship missiles...
Signed: Gunther von Lütjens, Grand Admiral of the German Empire, Commander of the European Combined Fleet, Commander of the Atlantic Front. "