My Italy

The Italian Admiralty Building is the central department of the Navy. Various orders of the Navy have always been issued from here, and Leifer and Gomes are of course very familiar with it.

So after receiving the summoning order from Admiral Yagir, the two rushed over from Taranto without stopping.

"It's been a while since I've been to the Admiralty."

After getting off the car, Major General Gomes looked at the majestic Navy Building in front of him and sighed.

"Don't be so sentimental. You've come to the Admiralty quite well."

Leifer, who was wearing a lieutenant general's uniform, replied.

"Look, it's different wearing a lieutenant general's uniform."

Although he had seen it many times, Major General Gomes still looked at his friend's lieutenant general uniform with envy.

Leifer was actually very aware of his friends' dynamics, but he was the first to be promoted to lieutenant general, which indeed had a considerable influence on his friends.

To be honest, these two years have been smooth sailing for the two of them. They successfully passed the school level and became generals, and entered the middle and senior ranks of the navy. However, in the promotions over the years, Leifer often had to take the lead. Basically, he was promoted, and then it was his friend's turn. It is simply unbelievable to say that Gomes has no thoughts in his heart. It is normal for a soldier to be competitive.

Leifer actually knew something about his friend's mentality. In terms of talent, the two of them were actually about the same, but who let his friend's talent show up in cruiser command. There is nothing wrong with cruisers, but in people's habitual thinking, commanding battleships is always more important, so generally promotions will be given to more important people first.

In order to reverse this image, Gomes had been transferred to command other warships before. However, in the exercise, compared with the cruiser where he commanded the stunning and unconstrained style, he was obviously much inferior. In the end, Gomes accepted his fate and commanded the cruiser well. That’s it.

"As long as you impress the general during this interview, you will definitely get one more star on your shoulder patch."

In response to his friend's words, Gomez smiled and said nothing more.

Then the two of them entered the building in a familiar manner and waited in front of Admiral Yagir's office.

That's right, just waiting.

There are not too many people who want to see the navy leader every day, and he needs to deal with the work at hand, so there is less time to spare.

But despite this, the benches outside the office were still full of people waiting. Thinking about it, a group of soldiers wearing general uniforms sitting upright, waiting quietly, is simply lifeless.

But despite this, the two of them did not dare to stab each other. They still sat here like others and waited for the admiral's summons. There were one or two acquaintances on the bench, but no one was prepared to say anything other than a glance to say hello.

But they didn't wait long. After an hour of waiting, the two were called to the admiral's office by the secretary.

"Your Excellency, General."

Facing the two people who came in, Admiral Agil wiped his face and cheered up. "I have read your previous report on the battle patrol. This time I came here just to get a detailed understanding. Now tell me why you think the battle patrol will gradually be replaced in the future."

Faced with Admiral Yagir's question, Gomes immediately spoke. "Admiral, for the new class of battlecruisers, the strategic position they occupy is mainly intended to deal with the opponent's break-up engagements and maintain the security of the country's maritime transportation lines. In terms of tactics, the battle cruisers are used as formations to break through Enemy’s interception line and conduct forcible reconnaissance of the enemy.”

At this point, Gomes' tone changed. "These are the advantages of battle cruisers, but there are also many disadvantages. First of all, battle cruisers are very expensive. Compared with battleships, with the same displacement, the price of battle cruisers will be 8-12% higher. In addition, the design at that time The battle patrol was intended to be an all-rounder, but after various tactical drill tests we conducted, we found that the battle patrol was unqualified in many aspects.

For example, integrating it into the battle line; our testing found that if it is integrated into the battle line to engage in artillery battles with enemy ships, a very embarrassing problem arises. Its high-speed design is wasted by joining the battle line. In addition, Weak armor means the damage rate will increase dramatically. We have conducted simulation tests and found that its damage rate in artillery battles is three times higher than that of a battleship. "

Hearing this, Admiral Yagir looked unhappy. The battle cruiser that the navy built with great efforts was directly said to be useless under the analysis of the two people in front of them.

"Anymore?"

The two of them were not blind, and of course they could see the admiral's unsightly expression. However, since they had already come, they would feel unhappy if the matter was not finished, so they had no choice but to continue.

"In addition, the number of battle cruisers also needs to be restrained. It is best to form a ratio of 3:10 with battleships. Because battle cruisers are expensive and require too much cost, it is not conducive to the development of the navy."

"Then the battle cruiser is cancelled. Which battleship should its mission be assigned to?"

At this time, the admiral asked a key question. Since the battle patrol will disappear in the future, which unit will be replaced?

The two of them knew that it was not easy to answer the admiral's words, because although the question was about the future, it sounded like they could say it casually, but it was not easy to say it with reason and evidence. Fortunately, they came prepared.

"I think the role of the battle cruiser will be replaced by other ship types in the future. Among them, breaking through enemy interception and forcible reconnaissance will be easier from the air. First of all, its speed advantage is something that various warships cannot have. Of course, at present, , aircraft also have limitations in use, so if they must be built, then we should choose high-speed battleships.

In addition, in terms of breaking engagements, I think the current use of battle patrols is not worth the gain. Its cost is high and the maintenance cost is high. It is somewhat inappropriate to send it to break engagements. The engagement-breaking warship should focus on speed and endurance, and make appropriate adjustments in firepower and protection. After all, it is facing merchant ships. And the cost cannot be too high, otherwise we cannot afford the loss. "

The person who said this was Leifer, who was silent at first, and what he meant was the conclusion he reached after long discussions with Gomes.

Agil fell into deep thought about these two words. Fast battleships are easy to understand, that is, battleships with battle cruise speeds. Although it is not easy to achieve, with the development of technology, everything will be possible in the future.

In fact, within the Navy, the controversy over the role of battle patrols has not yet been settled. The most controversial thing is that the battle cruiser is currently the most expensive battleship. Although it can perform many tasks, it is not outstanding enough.

As for its most important counterattack, Italy is not very easy to use due to its location, so it is normal to have internal disagreements.

Moreover, a battle cruiser is so expensive, how luxurious it would be to use it as a battleship to break up engagements.

For the two people in front of him, Agil flashed a look of admiration and then spoke. "I have learned your thoughts from your speeches, and I have other things to do next."

Who could not understand such an obvious eviction order, so the two of them went out in a polite manner. Since the admiral didn't give an answer, how could they accomplish things like building and canceling battle patrols in just a few words?

After the two of them went out, Yagil pulled out a design drawing of a battleship from his desk. This was a drawing of a battle cruiser. Its thick caliber indicated a 380mm main gun.

Yes, this is a battle cruiser designed based on the 380mm main gun that is still under development. Of course, this battle cruiser is still in the draft stage, but it does not prevent the admiral from enjoying it.

But now the admiral glanced at it silently, then opened a drawer in the lower right corner and put it in. Judging from the dust stains on other items in this drawer, it was difficult to use this drawer.