Chapter 2184 Jericho’s Intuition 2
"The German High Seas Fleet has been dormant in the North Sea for a whole year. If you say that the High Seas Fleet was just to deal with the Russian Baltic Fleet last year, then I don't believe it. What does the Russian fleet count? Is it worth letting the main force of the High Seas Fleet deal with it? As early as After the Battle of the Gulf of Riga, the Russian fleet has been destroyed, so now the question arises, what are the main forces of the High Seas Fleet doing in the Baltic Sea? You don't think they are sleeping, right?" Jericho did not refute Thomas, Instead, he continued his previous topic.
"So, what you're saying is that the Germans spent a whole year building their aircraft carrier fleet and perfecting the coordination with the High Seas Fleet's main ships?" Betty seems to have grasped some key points. You want to say that in the second battle During this period, a regular aircraft carrier would definitely not be completed in one year, but unfortunately, in World War I, most aircraft carriers were directly modified and then put on the shelves. The level of complexity is simply incomparable to that of Battle 2. The British aircraft carriers were also modified in more than a year. There is no reason that the Germans can't do it! And as Jericho said, from the perspective of the Bavarian heir, there is no reason why he would not think of something like an aircraft carrier, and the most important thing is that the crown prince still has the ability to complete this matter.
"But we don't have direct examples to prove this." Thomas said still unwillingly.
"Our reconnaissance operations against the German Navy are very limited. We can only monitor ports in the North Sea. However, the reconnaissance of ports in the Baltic Sea is much less effective. Moreover, the Germans have occupied many Russian ports. They can hide warships in The tightly fortified Gulf of Riga and even some ports in Finland! We are beyond our reach to these places! The Baltic Sea is the Germans’ back garden!” Jericho said. Jericho guessed this well. In order to keep it secret, the German Navy's aircraft carrier units have been deployed in ports outside Germany for a long time! British submarines were unable to enter the Gulf of Riga. It is even more impossible for spies to enter a port facility that is full of officers, and even if they get in, it will be difficult for the news to get out!
"Then can we immediately send out planes or airships to conduct reconnaissance? The German High Seas Fleet is dispatched in full force, and the aircraft carrier fleet will probably accompany it. Don't forget that this time, the Germans are not fighting close to the German mainland, but are here. Our half,” Thomas said.
"It is a pity that we no longer have enough V1500 bombers suitable for long-range reconnaissance. Although the Germans are far away from homeland, after dawn, they will definitely get cover from the Luftwaffe from Norway. At least 300 or more fighters will be in Germany. The fleet is hovering overhead, and even if we send out some long-range reconnaissance aircraft, whether we can detect the opponent without guidance is one problem, and whether we can avoid being hunted by the Luftwaffe is another problem." Jericho shook his head and said.
"Don't we still have the Phoenix Group? They use long-range patrol V1500 aircraft with enhanced defenses. Even if they face the German Tracers, they should have a chance to detect the German aircraft carrier squadron, right?" Thomas said.
"The Phoenix Group may be able to do it, but unfortunately, they have more important tasks. I can only say that some of their aircraft are no longer in the UK! This is our last long-range aviation reconnaissance force and cannot be used anymore. Problem." Jericho hesitated and said.
"Damn it, the boss actually hid so deeply? Now he actually has a back-up plan?" Thomas and Betty were both shocked.
"In this case, we can only deduce the German Navy based on the aviation power of the Royal Navy." This time Betty sided with Jericho.
Taking into account the powerful interception capabilities of the German Air Force, even the enhanced V1500 is unable to deal with specialized bomber killers. So what if the large-caliber machine guns and aerial cannons are not powerful enough? The Germans also have anti-aircraft rockets...
This investigation was definitely paved with the blood of pilots and the wreckage of V1500! And even if you see it, so what? It just proved Jericho's guess, but how many aircraft are there on the German aircraft carrier? How is the take-off capability? The British couldn't be sure at all. The reason was simple. It was just a few reconnaissance V1500s coming over. The interception capabilities of the German land-based aviation forces in the air were enough to deal with it! The carrier-based aircraft does not need to take off at all.
Therefore, the so-called aviation reconnaissance is of very limited significance. It is really not worthwhile to take advantage of the last long-range aviation power of the Royal Navy in order to confirm a guess. And to be honest, as a senior general of the Royal Navy, Betty is very concerned about how much wealth the navy can have. It is clear that the size of this so-called Phoenix Group is absolutely impossible to be the same as the Germans' three 18-plane squadrons plus more than 10 spare squadrons. The Phoenix Group can have 36 V1500 aircraft, which is already very good!
Although I don’t know where the Phoenix Brigade is currently deployed, what is certain is that it must be conducting reconnaissance in the Norwegian Sea. Such a large area of sea must take care of both Iceland and the UK mainland, as well as the Denmark Strait in northern Iceland. This task is stressful. It's not that big. So it’s better not to conduct reconnaissance on the German fleet!
With Betty's support, Thomas could only give up. However, now that Jericho has deduced that Germany may have an aircraft carrier, the question becomes, what is the combat effectiveness of the German aircraft carrier? In the absence of any reliable information, the British Air Force was left to speculate…. The person who has the most say in this regard is Betty. After all, since she stopped working in the fast fleet, Betty has been responsible for almost all the work on the aircraft carrier!
"What we can now determine is that the German Navy has never started construction of a new naval capital ship since the completion of the last Bayern-class battleship. Therefore, it is impossible for the Germans to use the hull of an existing battlecruiser to transform it like we do. "Aircraft carrier." Betty is certain of this. On the one hand, because of the huge size of the battleship, and the long period from the start of construction to the service, the Germans obviously did not have time to convert the hull of the battleship into an aircraft carrier during wartime, and even if it was because of the shielding of the dock Or other reasons make British spies and aviation reconnaissance useless, then a large amount of material flow will also expose the Germans' intentions. After all, in Betty's view, the most that can be changed from a battleship to an aircraft carrier is to change the parts above the load-bearing structure, such as Build a hangar, then lay a deck or something, and the waterline should not be changed.
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