The Rise of the Third Reich

There seems to be some truth to what Redl said!

In Hessmann’s memory, the battleships of the German Navy broke through the engagement and fought ugly. Perhaps it was really because they were too weak, or because there was no aircraft carrier protection - if the Bismarck was under the protection of the "Seydlitz" class aircraft carrier and 36 zero-fighters It burst into the Atlantic Ocean. It is hard to say whether the British can catch it.

"Let's hold a war game!" Marshal Schleicher, who presided over the meeting, made the decision. "If two two-ship formations can force the main force of the British Home Fleet to be used for escort, then it is worth building." At this point, he looked at Fatty Goering again, "Mr. Goering, the 12 P-class armored ship project will not Wouldn’t it put too much pressure on industrial production?”

"No problem," Göring assured, patting his chest, "We have enough power to build ships!"

He said in a proud tone: "After the National Socialist Workers' Party came to power, our industrial strength has made great progress. Now we can produce 26 million tons of steel every year, the most in Europe. And in two four-year periods In the plan, we have also invested 565 million marks to enhance the capabilities of eight major shipyards (Blohm \u0026 Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Schönwerk, Deutsche Werft, the National Naval Shipyard in Wilhelmshaven, Kiel's Horvaz Shipyard, Vulcan Shipyard in Stettin, Deichmag Shipyard in Bremen, Kaiser Shipyard in Riga), and we have also built 17 new shipyards that can build small and medium-sized ship hulls and shipyards.

Now, except for the Kaiser Werft in Riga, the other seven major shipyards all have at least one slipway that can build H-class battleships. Among them, the Deichmag Works in Bremen and the Blohm Voss Works in Hamburg and the Wilhelm The National Naval Shipyard in Hong Kong has two large slipways that can build H-class battleships. The seven major shipyards have a total of nine large slipways with a capacity of over 60,000 tons. "

The unladen displacement of the H-class battleship is 55,553 tons, and its construction requires a 60,000-ton slipway - a slipway of this level was very rare in the 1930s.

However, being able to build H-level does not mean that H-level must be built. Currently, one of the nine 60,000-ton slipways is used to build the No. 2 ship of the "Bismarck" class, two are used to build the "B aircraft carrier" (a 33,000-ton fleet aircraft carrier), and two are planned to be used to build the H -class battleships, two are planned to build 35,000-ton O-class battleships, and two more have just been built and have not yet been put into use.

As for P-class armored ships, they have an unladen displacement of less than 20,000 tons, and there are many shipyards in Germany that can build them.

"There are also some other 20,000-ton to 30,000-ton slipways," Goering said. "The military ships currently on those slipways are a 'Seydlitz' class and a 'Hipper Navy' "Admiral's class, there is no problem in starting construction of four P-class armored ships at the same time."

Both ships were projects in the first phase of the "Z" plan formulated in 1933, including two "Scharnhorst" class battleships, two "Bismarck" class battleships, and two "Seidlitz" class battleships. Aircraft carriers, four "Admiral Hipper" class cruisers, three "Deutsche" class armored ships, five "Leipzig" class light cruisers, 4 Type 1934 destroyers, 6 Type 1936 destroyers, 12 "Raptor" and "Beast" class torpedo boats (not torpedo boats) and about 300 submarines of various types. In addition, the German Navy also has three "Königsberg" class light cruisers, which were built in the 1920s.

"What about steel?" Schleicher asked, "Can it be supplied? The current shipbuilding plan is very large, and the manufacture of tanks and cannons also requires steel."

"Steel is not a problem," Goering said. "According to the plan, one-third of the total production this year will be allocated to the General Administration of Armaments. One-third of the 26 million tons is 8.67 million tons. 12% of which will be allocated to the Navy. Bureau, a total of 1.0404 million tons. By 1939, the steel allocated to the Navy will exceed 2 million tons. "The fat man glanced at Hersman gratefully, "In fact, steel is not a problem. What we are really in short supply in Germany is non-ferrous metals. Fortunately, the general has foresight and started stockpiling as early as the 1920s, otherwise the supply of raw materials for Plan Z would be really problematic. "

"Okay, since raw materials are not a problem," Marshal Schleicher nodded, "then arrange a war game. If the game proves the Navy's point of view, then prioritize the four P-class ships and start construction as soon as possible. "

Hessman is actually not very satisfied with this solution - in his opinion, the P-class is of little use. It would be great to replace the 20,000-ton hull with an aircraft carrier. If you design it well, 60 carriers can go up there...

But having been a "political general" for more than ten years, he also knows that preparing for war also involves politics. As an army general, he cannot interfere too much in navy matters.

"Okay," Hersman said, "then the priority in the 'Z' plan will be to add up to 4 more P-class ships. The ordinary-class supply project is determined to be 2 H-class battleships, 2 B-class aircraft carriers, 2 O-class -class battleships, 12 M-class light cruisers, 24 1936-class destroyers and 20 minesweepers, 20 submarine hunters, 50 speedboats, and 100 submarines. In addition, an additional 12,000-ton escort will be added to the Navy's priority research and development projects. Aircraft carrier, 4,000-ton tank landing ship, new air defense cruiser, new shipboard radar, new aviation torpedo, 500kg and 1,000kg armor-piercing bombs.”

"Okay." Redel did not raise any objection this time. Although the number of H-class battleships and O-class battleships started to be built is a bit small, with the addition of the 'Bismarck' class and 'Scharnhorst' class, the German Navy will have 8 battleships by 1942. In addition, we can have 3 Deutschland class ships, 4 Admiral Hipper class ships, 4 P class ships, 2 Seydlitz class ships, 2 B aircraft carriers, and a total of 23 capital ships. Not bad.

"Then let's discuss the Army tank project next," Marshal Schleicher breathed out. The "Navy Plan Z Adjustment Case" that had been arguing for many days finally came to an end. "Ludwig, do you suggest that Skoda's LT-38 tank be included in the priority improvement and production catalog?"

The LT-38 is the famous 38t tank, which was developed by the Skoda Company of the Bohemian Protectorate on the basis of the LT-35 tank. After Bohemia became part of the German Empire, Herschmann instructed Skoda to develop a 10-ton light tank.

In early 1938, Skoda launched its product, the LT-38. After testing by the Armored Corps Directorate General, it is believed that the performance of this tank is better than that of the German No. 2 tank, and it is an ideal light tank.

Hersman said; "Yes, the LT-38 is better than the No. 2 tank. It is recommended that the factory that currently produces the No. 2 tank converts 60% of the production capacity of the No. 2 tank to the production of the LT-38 in 1938, and the LT-38 series vehicles will be used in January next year. The monthly output has been increased to more than 150 units.”

"Mr. Göring," Field Marshal Schleicher asked.

"No problem," Göring replied, patting his chest. "It's a matter of an order... In this case, the priority list for tank production and improvement includes the 38t tank and the No. 3 tank, the priority improvement list includes the No. 4 tank, and the priority development list includes the VK3001 (30-ton No. 1) and VK4501 (45-ton No. 1).”

The VK3001 project and the VK4501 project were the later famous Panther tanks and Tiger tanks. Both projects were established very early, one in 1938 and the other in 1937.

"The priority development catalog plus the second series of deformed vehicles focuses on 105mm self-propelled artillery, reconnaissance tanks, fire-breathing tanks and tank maintenance vehicles."

Göring immediately recorded Hersmann's request in his notebook. His task is to fulfill the military's requirements to the best of his ability - thanks to the General Administration of Arms and the Arms Commission, Germany's arms production is now gradually on track. The military can only make demands that the General Administration of Arms is capable of fulfilling, while the General Administration of Arms can use administrative orders to regulate the production of all German industries in order to maximize the capabilities of German industry.

"The next step is the production and development of the aircraft," Schleicher opened another folder with the Air Force logo. "The Naval Aviation proposed to modify the He111 and Ju88, replace them with high-power engines, add external auxiliary fuel tanks, and increase the combat radius to more than 1,000 kilometers... Moreover, the He111 carries one aviation torpedo and the Ju88 carries two 500 kilogram armor-piercing missiles. In case of bomb."

It seems that people in the naval aviation are still thinking about the "thousand-plane sneak attack"? Hessman nodded: "I think it can be done... maybe we can actually sneak attack Sparka Sound when the war starts."

"It's too risky. That's the most powerful navy in the world!" Redl shook his head, "And we don't know much about the situation in Scapa Flow yet."

When Redl said this, he must not have known that the most powerful navy in the world stayed in an anchorage with no aircraft cover, no radar to detect the sky, and less than 1,000 kilometers away from the German mainland.

If the historical Hitler really dared to play like Isoroku Yamamoto, the main force of the British Navy would probably have to lie down in September 1939...

Hersman didn't know the situation in Scapa Flow. He thought for a while and said: "Someone will go to reconnaissance, and the Navy will also send submarines to keep an eye on it." He paused again, "I think we can try it, even if It won’t sink many ships, but blowing up their oil depots will be enough for the British.”