Chapter 2468 The Japanese’s Final Preparations 6
? This generation of Japanese navy still has a certain level. They at least know that they must take the initiative to attack when they are at a disadvantage to gain the initiative! However, Betty obviously asked the Japanese Navy's aircraft carrier detachment to focus on defense and give up offense. This may be able to persist for a longer time, but the final defeat is certain, because defense can only obtain a better exchange ratio, but Give the initiative to others!
"General Betty explained this problem. He believed that the insufficient air capacity and waste of combat resources of the British aircraft carriers were one of the important reasons for the failure of the Norwegian Sea battle. We once analyzed the entire battle process. If the Spey fleet did not have an aircraft carrier To consume the British aircraft carrier fleet, the German air strikes will not be so successful. If the two sides start fighting directly, the British cannot say that they will win. But if the evacuation is immediate, the Royal Navy can retain at least 20 more capital ships. "Island. Murahayao said.
"Twenty ships. If this is the case, although the outcome will not change, from a purely evacuation point of view, this is a successful operation." Yamamoto Gonbei said (not counting aircraft carriers for the time being). The remaining 12 battleships and the remaining 20 are completely different concepts. The British Royal Navy with the remaining 12 battleships is only a tiger skin, but if there are 20 remaining, even if there is a treaty after the war restrictions, but these battleships will still make the Germans feel like a thorn in their backs! The UK also has more chips! It can be regarded as recovering the losses as much as possible!
"We mean to accept this suggestion. After all, this is the best choice now." Shimamura Hayao said.
"Okay, let's do this for now. We must respect General Betty's opinions in the future. If he can be more proactive, we must cooperate and give him certain rights!" Yamamoto Gonbei asked. "And what about on the cruiser side?"
"We are worse in this aspect. If we talk about wartime light cruisers, we still have some, but we have very few new, well-equipped turret-structured cruisers. Only 2 are in service. The Americans now have at least 6 Ships. Coupled with the various cruisers being built, the Americans have a huge advantage in both quantity and quality. No matter how good the Imperial Navy performs, it will eventually lose." Shimamura Hayao said somewhat helplessly.
If Japan and the United States have a 1:2 ratio in terms of battleships, which is already an absolute disadvantage, then the gap in terms of cruisers and destroyers is even greater, and can easily reach 1:3 or even higher! As for destroyers, it is possible to reach 1 to 5! Even though the war has not yet begun, the slightly more rational senior Japanese navy officials are not optimistic about the outcome of this war.
"Is there any way to increase the number of cruisers? For example, slow down the speed of capital ship construction to supplement the construction of cruisers." Yamamoto Gonbei asked. After all, judging from the Japanese battleship construction cycle, the construction cycle of a battleship is about 3 to 4 years. In the eyes of most people, these behemoths still on the slipway seem to be unable to catch up with this war no matter how hard they work overtime. If this is the case, then why not slow down the construction speed or even stop it altogether in order to build cruisers that are more convenient for production?
“We now have two main remedies,
The first way is to directly import some light cruisers from the UK for emergency relief. After the war, Germany strictly restricted the size of the British fleet. Some remaining British light cruisers and auxiliary cruisers were about to be decommissioned. The British dismantled these artillery pieces and sold them to us in the name of civilian ships. In this way, in a short period of time, we Can add 4 to 5 light cruisers. "
"The second way is to modify old armored cruisers, such as the Kasuga-class armored cruisers we still serve. Although they have been in service for 20 years, we just replaced the boilers and power systems not long ago. Although the performance is not as good as the new ones in service The battleships are lacking in comparison, but I think these battleships can still play an important role in this war. The Germans can use the same old Mainz-class armored cruisers to confront the British fleet in the English Channel, why can't we How about continuing to use these battleships? These old-fashioned cruisers only have a slight difference in speed, but they are very good in terms of firepower and defense. After improvements, the speed of these battleships can reach about 24 knots. If we can control the carrying capacity, it is barely enough. It works." Hayao Shimamura thought for a while and said.
"Okay, I will personally look into this matter when I have time. I didn't expect that now, the United Fleet still needs to use the warships from the Philippine Sea War. I don't know what Americans will think when they see these familiar figures. "There was a sense of helplessness in Yamamoto Gonbei's tone.
A warship has been in service for 20 years, which is not short in the eyes of ordinary people. It's time to retire, and looking at the current situation, the Japanese still want to continue serving. So, can such a warship be used?
How do you say this? If compared with warships of the same level in the new era, it is definitely not good. But if you play Tian Ji horse racing and engage in misplaced confrontation, then it is still possible. For example, the Mainz-class armored cruiser of the German High Seas Fleet. In addition to sharing the firepower in the battle line of the large fleet, it is actually not effective against the opponent's battleship. It may cause some essential damage, but if it is used against light cruisers, it will be a good weapon.
The same is true for the early Kasuga-class armored cruisers. The thickness of the armor belt is large enough, and the coverage area is sufficient. Whether it is used to deal with 6-inch guns or 8-inch guns, it is not a big problem, and its own 10-inch guns can deal with the vast majority of today's guns. Some cruisers are more than adequate, so what? Do you look down on the British Armstrong 10-inch L50 gun from 20 years ago (the gun was changed)? You can look down on its technology, but you must respect its caliber and the new armor-piercing projectile weighing 250KG! The armor-piercing projectile, which has been replaced with the British's new delayed fuze and stable charge, has the same performance when hitting 6-inch armor at normal combat distances! (Of course, the normal combat distance of armored cruisers is relatively close!)
Of course, if you compare it with the 10-inch L50 new artillery currently equipped by the U.S. Navy, it will definitely not work. Moreover, the 8-inch first-generation hardened armor is worse than the hardened armor in the war. In terms of performance alone, the Kasuga class is still lagging behind the new American large armored cruisers. However, the number of new large armored cruisers is relatively small after all, so the Kasuga class still has its uses.
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