Chapter 892 A Protracted War of Attrition?

"Damn it, we were fooled."

Hearing Stauffenberg's report, Hessman immediately understood what was going on. The American fleet that broke through the "Atlantic blockade" before was just a feint, and its purpose was to cooperate with the Soviet Red Navy's battleship forces to break through the North Atlantic blockade.

The Red Navy now has 4 Soviet-class battleships and 2 Langkastadt-class battlecruisers. Although they are all water-filled goods, their tonnage, speed and firepower are not bad, which can definitely make up for the weakness of the insufficient number of new American battleships.

"We also have a squadron of Ju288s in Bergen." Marshal Jeschonnek, commander of the naval aviation, said while looking at the Barents Sea on the map, "Their combat radius exceeds 2,500 kilometers, which can cover the Svalbard Islands.

And we have also deployed seaplanes on the Svalbard Islands, which can detect the Soviet fleet suddenly entering the Norwegian Sea from the Barents Sea."

"The Soviets will not break into the Norwegian Sea from near the Svalbard Islands." Navy Commander-in-Chief Raeder immediately denied Jeschonnek's view, "It is summer now, and many areas in the Arctic Ocean are navigable I guess the Soviets will keep going north, bypassing Svalbard, and then meet up with the American support fleet near Greenland, and then break through the Denmark Strait together. If our aircraft carriers are still in Brest..."

"Wait, do we really have no aircraft carriers available?" Hersman suddenly interrupted Marshal Raeder, "What about escort aircraft carriers? What about aircraft carriers converted from cruise ships? Where are they?"

What was lured away from Brest were only fleet aircraft carriers, not the slower escort aircraft carriers and the "Blue Ribbon Aircraft Carriers" with weak anti-strike capabilities.

"The Bremen, Europa and Alsace form the Second Air Fleet and are currently on standby in Gibraltar." Raeder replied, "As for the escort aircraft carriers, there should be several in Wilhelmshaven for repair, and it will take some time to gather crew members and pilots."

"Can the Second Air Fleet be dispatched now?" Hessmann asked immediately, "I need the Fw-190T and Fokker Zero D of the Second Air Fleet to cooperate with the Ju288 in combat."

The American "one-time Spitfire" is of course a great threat to the Ju288, but the tactical experts of the German Air Force and Naval Aviation are not vegetarians either, and they soon found a way to deal with it. It is to launch multiple waves of saturation strikes-not to dispatch the Ju288 every time, but to send Fw-1219 to "cheat the plane" before the Ju288 is dispatched.

Because the number of "one-time Spitfires" carried by an American fleet is definitely limited, and they will be gone after a few more times. Wouldn't it be enough to use the Ju288 to bomb it at that time?

Although the high-altitude performance of the "disposable Spitfire" is superior, it can only bully the Ju288 with relatively weak firepower and armor (the idea of ​​this aircraft is similar to that of the British Mosquito, which eats at high altitude and high speed). It will definitely not be able to get a good result when encountering the Fw-1219 with very strong firepower and armor.

Therefore, the Fw-1219 can completely take advantage of the loophole that the US ship-borne radar can hardly distinguish the type of enemy aircraft, break through from high altitude, pretend to be Ju288, and trick the US military into launching the "disposable Spitfire" aircraft.

"But the combat capability of the Second Air Battle is not strong," Raeder said with some concern, "What if there are several Essex-class aircraft carriers in this US fleet in the North Atlantic..."

The number of Essex-class carrier-based aircraft is large. If there are really several Essex-class aircraft carriers in this US fleet that appears in the North Atlantic, the combat effectiveness of the fleet cannot be underestimated.

"That's what I hope will happen," Hersman said. "If there are a few Essex-class ships in the US fleet in the North Atlantic, then the possibility of a decisive battle between the US fleet and me is relatively high. I don't mind exchanging three cruise ship-converted aircraft carriers for the American Essex-class. That's a very cost-effective deal."

...

"If we can exchange a few Casablanca-class ships for four Soviet-class ships and two Kronstadt-class ships, we will make a profit."

Almost at the same time, US President Roosevelt was also in the Oval Office of the White House to settle accounts with Admiral Lacey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Roosevelt certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to take risks with the Essex-class - that was a treasure to be used against the Japanese devils, how could it be sunk in the North Atlantic casually? However, the Casablanca-class is not worth much, and it is a cheap product that can build 50 ships a year (the fastest one can be built in 76 days), so Roosevelt doesn't feel bad about throwing away as many as he wants.

So the six US aircraft carriers discovered by German reconnaissance planes were all Casablanca-class. In the 22nd Task Force commanded by Vice Admiral Thomas Carson Kinkaid (the fleet that appeared near Iceland), there were two other Borg-class escort carriers that were not detected by the Germans.

In other words, the fleet has a total of 8 aircraft carriers!

These 8 aircraft carriers are all equipped with fighters, with 12 "disposable Spitfires" on each aircraft carrier, and 16 F6Fs. Although F6F can also carry bombs, its anti-ship attack capability is still very insufficient. Therefore, these 8 escort aircraft carriers do not have any anti-ship attack capabilities, and their mission is air defense!

In addition to the 8 escort carriers, the 22nd Task Force also has 7 old battleships (2 Wyoming-class, 2 New York-class, 2 Mexico-class and 1 Florida-class). These battleships have been modernized, with a focus on strengthening anti-aircraft firepower. Each battleship is equipped with 40 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns (4 × 10), 48 Oerlikon 20mm machine guns (single × 44, double × 2) and 24 127mm anti-aircraft guns that can fire VT fuze shells... These are basically 7 floating anti-aircraft gun platforms!

In addition to the 8 escort carriers and 7 old battleships, the 22nd Task Force also has 8 light cruisers with extremely strong anti-aircraft firepower, one of which is the anti-aircraft cruiser Oakland, which has just been commissioned.

If the Oakland is classified according to guns and tonnage, it is a light cruiser, and if it is classified according to combat missions, it is an anti-aircraft cruiser. Its standard displacement is only 6,000 tons, far less than the Cleveland class with a standard displacement of 11,800 tons. However, it has anti-aircraft firepower that is no less than that of the Cleveland class, with 12 127mm dual-purpose anti-aircraft guns (capable of firing VT fuze shells), 16 Bofors anti-aircraft guns (8 twin-linked), and 12 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns.

In the original history, because the fleet's anti-aircraft firepower was sufficient, this type of anti-aircraft cruiser was not built in large quantities, and only 7 ships were built. However, at present, due to the threat of high-performance aircraft represented by Germany's Ju288, the US Navy has begun to build a large number of inexpensive and high-quality Oakland class, and as many as 30 Oakland class ships have been started.

In addition, there is also a group of Fletcher-class destroyers with equally powerful anti-aircraft firepower in the 22nd Task Force. This destroyer with a standard displacement of 2,100 tons is equipped with 5 127mm dual-purpose anti-aircraft guns, 3 Bofors anti-aircraft guns (twin) and 10 20mm Oerlikon machine guns. Like the Oakland class, it is a cheap and good anti-aircraft weapon. In this time and space, the US government placed a total of 225 Fletcher-class orders, 50 more than in history. By 1943, this class of destroyers had begun to serve in large numbers - according to the plan, 121 Fletcher-class destroyers will be completed and put into service in 1943 alone...

Compared with the American tycoons who easily built dozens or hundreds of aircraft carriers and cruisers, the speed of "dumplings" on the European Community is far inferior.

It's not that there are not enough shipyards, but that there is not enough fuel. Moreover, due to the failure of the plan to fight the United States with all its strength after the peace talks with the Soviet Union, Germany is now facing a long-term two-front war.

Compared with the Eastern Front, which is related to the unification of Greater Europe and the survival of the Third Reich, the importance of the Atlantic battlefield is indeed not enough, and naturally it cannot get the top priority supply.

"Ladies and gentlemen, now we must adjust the original combat plan and armament production plan to cope with the major changes in the situation."

At the German High Command meeting on June 25, Chief of the General Staff Hersmann formally proposed to change the combat plan and armament plan - in fact, to change Germany's national policy!

Hersmann said: "Defeating the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front and helping the Russian Empire establish effective rule west of the Ural Mountains will be the primary goal in the future.

And the goal of fighting the United States will be changed to maintain Atlantic sea power for as long as possible with fewer naval and air forces, ensure transportation lines with South America and the west coast of Africa, and gain an exchange ratio advantage in a protracted war of attrition."

"Protracted war of attrition?" Hitler interrupted Hersmann's speech and asked, "Is it possible to force the United States to sue for peace through a few decisive battles at sea?"

"Mr. Prime Minister," Hersmann replied, "The General Staff and the Naval Command will certainly pursue this. Result. But a protracted war of attrition is obviously more beneficial to the United States... The Americans' goal is likely to defeat Japan before we defeat the Soviet Union. Therefore, the Atlantic battlefield is also secondary and diversionary to the United States. They cannot fight a decisive battle with me without full confidence.

If the United States adopts a protracted and attritional strategy in the Atlantic, it will be difficult for us to find an opportunity for a decisive battle. So we should make long-term preparations while seeking a decisive battle! "

He paused and continued: "Therefore, the General Staff recommends rearranging the armament construction plan for the next few years to adapt to the latest changes in the war situation. "