The Rise of the Third Reich

The sound of rapid footsteps reached the spacious and luxurious commander's conference room in the battleship Iowa. Halsey, who was watching the latest battle report from the Pacific Fleet Command (battle report on the Pacific battlefield) in the conference room, raised his head and saw the Chief of Staff. Major General Browning had already entered.

"Commander, a report from the Caribbean Theater Command," Major General Browning said urgently and quickly, "The Army Aviation Forces in the Caribbean Theater encountered a new German fighter jet over Guyana and suffered heavy losses. There were 10 B-17s. The bomber was shot down within minutes!"

"Oh." Halsey was not too surprised and just said, "Were the escorting fighter jets too negligent?"

It is only a few hundred kilometers from Trinidad and Tobago to Paramaribo, the capital of the Republic of Guyana. Any type of P51 and P47 can escort the B-17 throughout the entire journey. Moreover, bomber groups usually adopt high-altitude raid tactics (actually there are no valuable targets in Guyana, and the American bombing is just for the watching South American greats to see). However, the German Fw-190s in Guyana are insufficient in number and have poor performance. It has no advantage over P51 and P47, so the interception effect is not ideal.

Major General Browning shook his head and said: "You can't blame the escort aircraft, but the Germans used a new high-speed, high-altitude fighter without propellers! It can fly up to 700 kilometers above 11,000 meters...or 800 kilometers per hour. !”

"What? No propeller? Can you fly 700-800 kilometers at an altitude of 11,000 meters?" Halsey was a little frightened now. "This must be some kind of jet aircraft, right? The Germans already have jet fighters that can be used in actual combat!"

This is no joke!

The Germans had the Ju288, a high-altitude bomber that could carry remote-controlled gliding bombs, which posed a great threat to American surface ships. It was not until F4Us began to come on board that the situation was completely changed.

The high-altitude performance of the F4U is good. Although it is not as good as the Fw-190T, its firepower is very powerful. It has four 20mm cannons (the F4U in this time and space is customized for the Ju288 to some extent, so most models have it. 4 20mm cannons), once the Ju288 is caught, it can be easily shot down!

But if the Germans have jet fighters that can fly at an altitude of 11,000 meters to 700-800 kilometers, then F4U or even P47 fighter jets equipped with turbocharged engines may not be able to deal with them.

In this way, Ju288 can happily use remote control gliding bombs again!

“There is a bit of panic in the Caribbean theater now!” Browning said. “Admiral Eisenhower believes that the emergence of this new type of aircraft and the arrival of Marshal Kesselring may very well mean that the Germans will launch a large-scale launch in the Caribbean. attack."

It seems possible! Used in conjunction with jet aircraft, the Ju288 can not only seize sea control, but can also be used to suppress the US military airports in Trinidad and Tobago.

And once Trinidad and Tobago falls, there will be a huge crisis in the Caribbean theater!

"Admiral Eisenhower wants us to stay in the Caribbean?" Halsey asked with a frown.

"Yes, he wants us to stay for a while," said Browning. "He sent a telegram to ask our opinion."

"There's nothing to say," Halsey slapped the table. "If the Germans really want to launch an offensive in the Caribbean, of course our 3rd Fleet must stay here! The Caribbean is much more important than the Pacific... Venezuela alone There are tens of millions of tons of oil, and it cannot fall into the hands of the Germans under any circumstances!”

"Then I'll send your suggestions to Naval Operations?"

"Okay." Halsey saw Major General Browning turning to leave and hurriedly stopped him and said, "Explain in the telegram that we can wait in the waters near Panama. If the Germans have no intention of invading the Caribbean for the time being, We can access the Pacific Ocean right away through the Panama Canal."

"Understood, Mr. Admiral."

…

"Mr. President, the Department of Naval Operations believes that the 3rd Fleet can remain in the Caribbean for the time being."

The suggestions jointly put forward by Halsey and Eisenhower were quickly adopted by the U.S. Department of Naval Operations - Admiral Ernest King was also a little afraid of the Germans. And he also knew a lot about jet aircraft and knew that the Germans were using a completely new type of aircraft in Guyana.

So on March 10, at an emergency meeting at the White House, he proposed to Roosevelt the use of the powerful 3rd Fleet in the Caribbean battlefield.

"How many aircraft do we have in the Caribbean battlefield?" Roosevelt did not make a decision immediately, but asked about the deployment of troops.

"There are more than 3,000 aircraft." Admiral Arnold replied, "If you include the aircraft in the Southeast Pacific Theater and the 3rd Fleet, the total number is more than 4,000!"

"Where are the Germans?" Roosevelt asked again.

"It has an estimated 800 aircraft," Presidential Chief of Staff Admiral Lacey reported. "In addition, the European Combined Fleet has at least eight large aircraft carriers that can carry more than 500 carrier-based aircraft."

"Do we have a three-fold advantage?" Roosevelt felt a little relieved.

"But the enemy has jet fighters!" General Arnold, commander of the Army Aviation Corps, sounded unconfident when he spoke. "We have almost no fighters to fight against, so there has to be several times the numerical advantage."

Roosevelt interjected: "Our jet aircraft project must also be accelerated, and we will strive to produce an aircraft that can compete with German jet aircraft within 1943!"

This task is not easy to accomplish, because the United States lags far behind in the development of jet aircraft. The engine level is only equivalent to that of Britain and Germany in the 1930s, and parts often fall out when running at high speeds.

And the British did not move their jet aircraft development projects to Canada - because Gloucester, De Havilland, Rolls-Royce, and Westland participated in the development of the British "Meteor" fighter jet. The factories and laboratories of the company and other British aviation equipment manufacturers are all in the UK, and there are no conditions for research and development in Canada.

If the Meteor project were to leave the UK, it would have to go to the US. However, the British government was unwilling to hand over such a valuable project until the last moment. As a result, the "Meteor" project almost completely fell into the hands of the Germans. What the Americans can get is a bunch of drawings and samples that were transferred to Canada in advance. It is a dream to rely on these things to develop a jet aircraft comparable to the Me262 within 43 years, and the Me262 itself still has a lot of room for improvement.

In contrast, it is more reliable to steadily improve the high-altitude performance of P47, P51, P38 and F4U. After all, the engines and aerodynamic shapes of these aircraft still have great potential that can be tapped.

Just when General Arnold was about to make some more reliable suggestions, Colonel Cotton, the adjutant to the President of the United States, hurried into the Oval Office and brought another piece of bad news that made his heart tremble.

The main force of the European Combined Fleet dispatched collectively and left the port of Gibraltar!

"All gone?" President Roosevelt asked.

"Yes, Mr. President," Colonel Catton replied. "The OSS agents disguised themselves as sailors on Brazilian merchant ships. When passing through the Strait of Gibraltar, they found that there were almost no ships in the military port."

The Strait of Gibraltar is too narrow and is a shipping chokepoint. It is impossible to prevent neutral ships from passing through, so it is not a suitable home port for the fleet. It was only before the surrender of the British mainland that the French military port of Brest near the Atlantic Ocean was not very safe, so the home port of the European Combined Fleet was placed in Gibraltar.

After the surrender of the British mainland, Brest in France and Portsmouth in the United Kingdom became the first and second home ports of the European Combined Fleet. Now the main force of the European Combined Fleet is moving away from Gibraltar. However, in order to confuse Americans, this sensitive time was deliberately chosen.

"It seems that the Germans' target is likely to be the Caribbean!" Presidential Chief of Staff General Leahy said, "We cannot take it lightly... In the Caribbean, we cannot afford to lose!"

Roosevelt looked at Admiral Ernest King, "Ernest, is there any way we can reinforce the Caribbean?"

The U.S. military strength in the Caribbean is now "very insufficient"! There are only the 3rd Fleet, the 9th Fleet, more than 4,000 aircraft, less than 500,000 ground troops, and more than 3,000 tanks/tank destroyers. They are not safe at all!

"The main force of the Pacific Fleet can be mobilized to go south for reinforcements," Ernest King said. "The distance from San Diego to the Panama Canal is only 3,000 nautical miles and can be reached in 7 days at a speed of 18 knots."

"How many forces can be mobilized in the Pacific Fleet now?" Roosevelt asked again.

"There is one battleship, 2 large aircraft carriers, 1 Independence-class aircraft carrier, at least 4 heavy cruisers and more than 10 light cruisers."

"Okay!" Roosevelt did a mental calculation. Halsey's 3rd Fleet has 3 large aircraft carriers and 2 light aircraft carriers; Gormley's 9th Fleet is relatively weak, with only 3 Borg-class escort aircraft carriers; in addition, the Atlantic Ocean The fleet's 2nd Fleet is now also stationed at Mayport Naval Base in Florida. The fleet also has two Independence-class aircraft carriers and three Borg-class aircraft carriers. If you add the aircraft carriers dispatched by the Pacific Fleet from San Diego, the number of U.S. aircraft carriers near the Caribbean Sea will reach 16.

"Let the Pacific Fleet send out a task force with three aircraft carriers as the core!" Roosevelt said, "In the Caribbean, we cannot take any risk of failure."