The Rise of the Third Reich

"What? Two Nagato-class ships together?"

Nimitz opened his mouth, and then said to his chief of staff Frederick: "Damn it, the Japanese are thinking of us together."

"Admiral, the one following us now is..." Frederick asked, "Do you want to release the seaplane?"

"No need, turn to 360 degrees and prepare for an artillery battle!" Nimitz seemed determined to fight. "The South Dakota will be commissioned in three months. Four South Dakota-class ships will be commissioned within the year, and at least two Iowa-class ships will be commissioned next year...so we are not afraid of losses, even if one North Carolina-class ship is sunk in exchange for Japan. The heavy damage to the super battleship is also worth it.”

Nimitz's abacus was of course very good. If it were not good enough, he would be Colonel Nimitz now. Through the naval battles in the European battlefield and the last "Hawaii Island Naval Battle", he has clearly understood the truth that "old ships are of no use".

Therefore, the truly valuable battleships of the United States in the next two years are 2 North Carolina class, 4 South Dakota class, 2 or possibly 4 Iowa class - the construction of the Iowa class was accelerated due to different situations. It is very likely that 4 ships will be in service within 1943!

As for the Japanese, based on the current information they have, they only have one or at most two 80,000-ton super battleships. It is estimated that Japan will not be able to accumulate a third 80,000-ton battleship based on its little national strength. Even if the Japanese devils try their best to build the third and fourth 80,000-ton battleships, they will definitely not be able to enter service soon.

So at the battleship level, in 1942 and 1943, the confrontation between the United States and Japan actually took place between Japan's two 80,000-ton class battleships and 10-12 new American battleships.

Japan has a quality advantage. Before the Montana class entered service, no battleship in the United States could compete with Japan's 80,000-ton class. However, the United States has a numerical advantage. Even if the exchange ratio is 5 to 1, the United States can withstand it.

Of course, Admiral Nimitz's calculation did not include Germany. He has also recently heard that President Roosevelt is likely to become President von Luzewirt, so he is also preparing to become General William von Nimitz at the appropriate time - this sounds more majestic, and He was originally of German descent. His ancestor is Baron Ernst von Nimitz of Germany, and his parents are both of German descent. His bloodline is very authentic, and he is a blond, blue-eyed Aryan superman...

…

"Flare!"

Yamamoto Isugai was sitting in the command tower of the Yamato battleship, closing his eyes and thinking about how to use the key chess piece of the Hawaiian Islands to contain as many U.S. Navy battleships as possible, when someone shouted in his ear. .

Yamamoto opened his eyes. At this time, a staff officer had opened the curtains of the port window of the conning tower. The window was already as bright as day, and three dazzling and bright light groups appeared directly in front of the Yamato.

"The Americans want to fight?" Yamamoto Isoroku was stunned, and immediately thought of something, "Let the Emperor Friedrich III set off flares, and let the observation posts watch carefully to truly identify the enemy's strength."

The Emperor Friedrich III, which was sailing on the left side of the Yamato, received the order and immediately fired 6 illumination bombs at the approximate position of the enemy fleet detected by the radar.

Yamamoto Isoroku did not wait for the cat-eye warrior on the observation post to report, and raised his binoculars to look over. Under the pale light, two particularly tall watchtowers suddenly appeared.

"Sure enough!" Yamamoto Isoroku gritted his teeth, "They are two North Carolina class ships!"

"Commander..." Matoi Ugaki was watching with a telescope. He was also startled by these two North Carolina-class battleships.

"Okay, just two ships." Yamamoto Isoroku put down his telescope and said nonchalantly, "Just sink them all!"

"Hai!"

Seeing that Yamamoto was determined to fight, Ugaki Matoi immediately began to make suggestions. He said: "Commander, in the last battle with the American battleship, the accuracy of the Yamato's main gun was not ideal in long-distance shooting. Therefore, the Yamato should be used The strong armor, brave the enemy's artillery fire, get as close as possible, and then use the huge gun to focus on destroying a North Carolina-class battleship. "

The power of the Yamato's main gun is undoubtedly powerful, but whether in test firing or in actual combat, the accuracy of this cannon at long distances is still not ideal - this is actually normal. Compared with the 460mm naval gun in the world This is also the first time it has been built, unlike the 406mm class naval gun which has long been a mature product. The reliability of the 460mm naval gun's main gun is definitely not as good as the 406mm first-class main gun.

However, this is not a problem for the Yamato. Just close the distance and attack. The power of the 460mm caliber main gun is currently unbearable by any battleship in the world.

"Admiral, the Japanese battleship is accelerating towards us!"

In the command tower of the battleship North Carolina, the atmosphere was so tense that it made people tremble from the beginning. Because everyone knows that the Japanese battleship they are fighting has an 18-inch (460mm) main gun that can easily penetrate the command tower of the North Carolina!

As long as one shot hits the command tower, everyone will die.

"Turn right 30 degrees. Gunnery officer, focus fire, target Japanese super battleship! Calculate the bombardment parameters."

Nimitz did not hesitate at all and immediately gave the order to turn to starboard to meet the enemy. Since the Japanese wanted to rely on the heavy armor of the battleships to attack fiercely, they would first try two North Carolina-class 18-gun 45s. The main gun with a caliber of 1 is really powerful. Although the 14-inch (356mm) armor-piercing projectiles could not do anything to the Japanese battleship in the last naval battle on the Big Island of Hawaii, now it is facing 18 16-inch cannons and cannot remain unscathed.

The gunnery officer quickly calculated the bombardment parameters based on the data from the observation post. At 3:10 a.m. on January 3, 1942, a fierce battle began between the USS Colorado and the Japanese battleships Nagato and Mutsu. Fifteen minutes later, two North Carolina-class battleships also fired their first salvo at the Japanese battleship Yamato.

…

"Boom! Boom..."

In the Alainuihaha Strait, the United States and Japan have each fired eight rounds of salvos. Among them, the Colorado-class battleship's eight cannons are aimed at the Japanese battleship Mutsu. Since the Nagato and Mutsu ships are facing the enemy from the bow, they can also fire eight 410mm cannons. The shooting target is naturally Colorado. -class battleship.

The well-trained and cat-eye skills of the Japanese Navy once again showed their power. Nagato and Mutsu's 8th salvo hit a straddle around the USS Colorado. Colonel Larkin, the captain of the Colorado, looked extremely ugly. A straddle shot means that a hit is not far away, and the charge of the 2 Japanese battleships should be over soon, and then they will turn around and fire concentratedly with 1 main gun...

"Captain, the Japanese ship is turning!"

This is expected. The distance between the two sides has now been shortened to 15,000 meters, which is relatively close in a night battle. At this distance, the Colorado's armor can hardly withstand the Nagato-class 410mm armor-piercing projectiles, and the Nagato-class battleship's armor can also hardly withstand the Colorado's 1 cannon...

"Straddle shot!"

Cheers suddenly rang in the command tower of the Colorado. It turned out that in the 10th salvo, the Colorado also fired a cross-fire. But then the Colorado was hit. A 410mm armor-piercing shell penetrated the thin armor of the battleship's bow. The shell penetrated into the battleship's petty officer's cabin, swept through several cabins, and almost hit the bow of the Colorado. There was an explosion when they were wearing each other. The interior of the battleship's bow became a mess and a fire broke out.

One minute later, a second 410mm shell hit the lifeboats placed on the deck of the USS Colorado. After breaking several stacked lifeboats, the shells caused a huge explosion between the bridge and the No. 1 chimney. explode. The huge shock caused by the explosion made everyone in the Colorado's command tower unable to stand and fell to the ground. However, causing the officers in the command tower to fall bruised and bruised was not the biggest harm caused by this shell.

"Captain, the No. 2 steam pipe is broken!"

The call from the chief engineer quickly drove Colonel Larkin into despair - he knew he was losing the Colorado, and probably his life.

Because the rupture of the steam pipe meant a partial loss of power, the Colorado, which was already running very slowly, might now turn into a giant turtle floating on the water.

Perhaps knowing that it was inevitable, the USS Colorado unleashed its strongest combat effectiveness. Just 1 minute after the second 410mm shell hit the Colorado, the 1 armor-piercing shell fired by the Colorado immediately retaliated and hit the waterline armor of the Mutsu battleship 15,000 meters away. It actually penetrated the 305mm without any effort. The thick main armor belt, and then penetrated the dome armor protecting the vital parts of the hull, and there was a big explosion outside the No. 2 boiler room.

Although it failed to penetrate the boiler room, it also blew up the steam pipe from the No. 2 boiler room to the engine room, causing the Mutsu to lose a quarter of its power. At the same time, the explosion also cut off many wire paths and ignited A lot of miscellaneous artifacts were removed, causing a fire inside the Mutsu.