The Rise of the Third Reich

Washington, White House.

Mr. Roosevelt, the president of the wealthy country of the United States, also received a battle report via telegram from the commander of the Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Ingersoll - about 20% of the transportation missions of the NR21 fleet were successful, except for the ships bound for the Soviet Union. They are still safe and sound, but 90% of the remaining transport ships have been lost!

"hiss……"

Roosevelt took a breath. Even if he led a country full of wealthy people, he couldn't afford such a loss! In just one transportation mission, 2 million tons of ships and more than 600,000 tons of cargo were lost. In addition, 3 battleships and 6 heavy cruisers were included!

Even a wealthy country cannot afford to lose like this. The money of wealthy Americans does not come from strong winds. If it fails like this, it will not take long for it to go bankrupt.

The President of the United States raised his big head and glanced sharply at several people in military uniforms in the Oval Office. They were Admiral Lacey, Chief of Staff to the President, Admiral Marshall, Chief of Staff of the Army, and Ernesto. Gen. King, and Lieutenant General Arnold, commander in chief of the Army Air Forces.

"There's nothing we can do, is there?" Roosevelt asked.

As this question came out of the mouth of the President of the United States, the atmosphere in the Oval Office suddenly became extremely tense. If Churchill, Stalin and Japanese Emperor Hirohito heard Roosevelt's question now, they would definitely hold their heads and prepare to cry!

Because there is still the second half of what Roosevelt said - then let the evil Nazis go!

If the success rate of Atlantic transportation is only 20%, then the counterattack on the European continent is definitely hopeless, and in the future, it will only be bounded by the German Atlantic Ocean. The United States took advantage of Germany's opportunity to deal with the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, and turned around to capture the Pacific territory first, and then hanged the Emperor of Japan. In this way, it would probably be able to fight against Germany, which ruled Europe, Africa, and India.

It can be said that the United States of America now stands at the most important three-way intersection in history. Should it go west to conquer Japan, or should it insist on being number one in Europe and continue to embarrass Germany?

Several generals seemed to be under a restraining spell, and no one spoke a word - this may be related to the fate of the United States and the world in the next 100 years or even longer. Who dares to say nonsense if they don't think carefully about it?

There was silence in the Oval Office, a dead silence. I don’t know how long it took before I heard General Lacey, the President’s Chief of Staff, speak.

"Mr. President, when I was on the phone just now, Sir Sir Deere, the head of the British military delegation in Washington, proposed a plan to form an Atlantic fast fleet."

"Atlantic Clipper Fleet? Is it feasible?" Roosevelt suddenly became interested. Sharing the earth equally with Germany was a last resort, and he was unwilling to do so.

"It is feasible to a certain extent." Admiral Lacey said, "The distance from the east coast of the United States to the port of Reykjavik in Iceland is about 2,300 nautical miles. If the average speed of the fleet can reach 25 knots, the fastest speed is 92 knots. We can arrive in an hour. As long as our confidentiality is in place, the Germans will probably not be able to detect it if we sail in small formations.”

Of course, 92 hours is a straight line, which may not be feasible in actual operation. However, the European Combined Fleet also does not dare to sail directly to the battlefield from Gibraltar. Doing so will make the precious capital ships vulnerable to ambush by submarines.

Therefore, Admiral Lacey's analysis is basically correct. If a small fleet of fast transport ships is used to transport troops and supplies to the UK, it will be difficult for the European Combined Fleet to intercept it.

"So do we have that many fast transport ships?" Roosevelt immediately asked.

"Not many at the moment." Admiral Ernesto King replied, "Because our previous idea was to form a slow-speed fleet."

The famous Freeship and T2 tankers are both slow-speed ships. The Freeship can only run 11 knots, and the T2 is slightly faster. The fastest model can run 16.5 knots.

One of the reasons why the United States has built so many slow ships is to save costs and facilitate and speed up the construction - after all, fast ships use large marine boilers and steam turbines, which are very expensive equipment, and are relatively difficult to produce. They cannot be compared with the steam engines and steam engines used by free ships. Most T2 tankers use marine diesel engines. Moreover, large boilers and steam turbines are standard equipment for military ships (Germany has high-power diesel engines that can be used in warships, but production is also very difficult). If too much is used to build cargo ships and oil ships, there will not be enough for warships.

Another reason is that when the Americans formulated the shipbuilding plan, they did not expect that the Germans would now firmly control the Atlantic Ocean, making it impossible for the slow-speed fleet to go to Britain through the North Atlantic Channel.

"How many clippers are there now?" Roosevelt asked further.

"Currently we have three main types of fast ships. The first type is cruise ships and passenger ships, including 16 ships including Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Queen of India, Queen of Britain and Normandy; the second type is modified warships. "The fast transport ships are mainly modified from flat-deck destroyers, and there are dozens of them, but the tonnage of these ships is very small; the third category is aircraft carriers."

"Aircraft carrier?" Roosevelt was stunned.

He knew both fast cruise ships and fast transport ships converted from flat-deck destroyers. The former was mainly used to transport troops, while the latter was used to transport supplies and troops to frontline islands. But Ernesto King's mention of aircraft carriers was beyond his expectation.

"The aircraft carrier is also a ship with a considerable carrying capacity and can be used to transport aircraft and vehicles." Ernesto King replied, "We can transfer the Wasp and the Raider from the Pacific back to the Atlantic to serve as vehicle and aircraft transport ships. In addition, the British also have two aircraft carriers, the Aquitania and the Berengaria, which were converted from large cruise ships. Their carrying capacity is more powerful and can not only transport aircraft and vehicles, but also carry a large amount of ammunition. and bulk cargo.”

Roosevelt nodded repeatedly, and his frown gradually relaxed. It seems that the United States can continue to intervene in the war in Europe, at least the transportation problem is not unsolvable. There are now several large cruise ships that can transport troops. One trip can cost tens of thousands, so transporting troops is not a problem. There are still five aircraft carriers that can transport vehicles and ammunition. The problem is not big. The only troublesome thing is transporting oil.

"What about the oil tankers?" Roosevelt asked, "We don't have fast oil tankers, do we?"

"We have a T2 oil tanker that can run 16.5 knots, which is considered fast." Ernesto King frowned and said, "If you want a faster oil tanker, you have to use the power system of a warship under construction."

There are several models of T2 tankers, the largest of which has a full load tonnage of more than 22,000 tons and can hold about 10,000 tons of oil. The main engine has more than 12,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of about 16 knots. If you want a ship of this level to have a high speed of 25-30 knots, the main engine power needs to reach 60,000-70,000 horsepower (the size of civilian ships focuses on reducing resistance in order to save fuel and main engine power, so a smaller power main engine can be used reaching a faster speed), it is almost the main engine of a destroyer.

In other words, if the United States builds a fast T2 tanker or similar cargo ship, it will have to build one less destroyer.

"So what should we do before the fast tanker is built?" Roosevelt thought for a while and then asked, "What method can we use to transport fuel to Britain?"

"It can only be smuggled."

"Smuggling?"

Ernest King nodded and said: "A single T2 flies the flag of a neutral country and sails to the other side of the Atlantic. The probability of not being discovered still exists. After all, the North Atlantic is very vast, and the current weather is bad enough."

A fleet of several hundred ships is definitely easier to detect than a single ship. If the Germans only have submarines that can attack the North Atlantic waterway, then it will definitely be advantageous to form a convoy, but now the Germans can use a powerful battleship formation to attack. Then the large escort fleet might be completely wiped out! In contrast, it is safer to dispatch a small fleet or even a single ship.

"If we are a single ship, what should we do if we encounter a German cruiser?" Roosevelt frowned again.

Ernest King shrugged, "It's hard to say, maybe even the ship and the oil belong to the Germans!"

At this time, Lieutenant General Arnold of the Army Aviation Corps shouted, "General! Are you saying that more than 20,000 tons of oil tankers and 10,000 tons of expensive C3 fuel will be thrown into the Atlantic Ocean for the Germans to rob?"

"Yes." Ernest King nodded and said, "The Germans can't grab them all. I estimate that about 50% of the oil tankers will arrive safely."

"What about the remaining 50%?"

Ernest King spread his hands helplessly, "It may be burned, or it may be snatched away by the Germans."

What he meant was that if the crew was unwilling to put up resistance that would surely cost them their lives, then both the ship and the oil would become German property. As for whether to resist, the U.S. Navy has no choice. It is impossible for the U.S. Navy to issue an order to make the crew of the T2 tanker prefer death to surrender.

"This is funding the enemy!" Arnold said. "The German planes will burn these high-quality fuel and then drop bombs on our heads."

The refined oil products to be shipped to the UK are all high-octane and top-grade goods, and most of them are supplied to aircraft. Although Germany now controls the oil-producing areas in the Middle East, the Middle East is not yet the oil kingdom it will be in the future. Even if European countries invest in mining there, the current monthly oil production is only more than two million tons. Far from reaching the point of abundance, the Germans would be very happy if they could capture some from the Atlantic.

"Let's do it this way!" Roosevelt gritted his teeth. "We cannot give up Britain and Europe unless it is absolutely necessary. Even if it is a very high price, it is acceptable. Moreover, this is only a last resort to temporarily cope with emergencies. Wait until the rapid T2 Once the tanker is built, we will safely transport the oil to Britain to combat Germany's ambition to dominate the world."