The Rise of the Third Reich

The "Silver Reaper" missile jointly produced by the German Henschel Company and the British Rolls-Royce Company is actually a small jet aircraft-it is actually not too small, with an empty weight of up to 1.8 tons and a full weight of up to 2.8 tons. It is also equipped with two 20mm cannons (the optional cannons were not purchased by the Japanese, but after the "Silver Reaper" was shipped back to Japan, Japan's own 20mm cannons were installed), and the firepower is not weak.

In addition, there is also a "trainer version" of the "Silver Death", which has larger wings and tail, as well as retractable landing gear.

Now as long as other "Silver Reapers" are modified according to the "training version", all 180 "Silver Reapers" missiles can be turned into high-altitude interceptors - they can be taken to an altitude of more than 12,000 meters by the Me264. It launches after approaching a group of American bombers, using its high speed and firepower to attack the American high-altitude bombers.

After completing the attack, these "Silver Reaper" aircraft can also use their landing gear to land at a nearby airport.

The idea of ​​using some of the "Silver Reapers" as high-altitude fighter jets was first proposed by Minoru Genda, who had personally flown such missiles (training missiles). And it quickly received the support of Takeo Yasuda, the head of the Army Aviation Headquarters - in the face of the huge expenditure of 120 million Euromarks, the land and sea dispute is no longer a problem. It is “too un-Japanese” to use up the investment of 120 million Euromarks at once.

At least they should be put to good use before the service life of these "Silver Death" engines expires, and finally used for collisions...

"Now we still have 53 Me264s," Takeo Yasuda said, "that is to say, 53 'Silver Reaper' jets can be launched at one time. 70-80 of the three-type 'Flying Swallow' IIs can be prepared in the short term. In this way, we can dispatch more than 120 high-altitude interceptors at one time. If the number of U.S. long-range bombers is less than 120, it is entirely possible to destroy them all at once. "

Army Chief Gen Sugiyama laughed a few times after hearing this: "If we can really achieve total annihilation, American bombers will never dare to come again."

"The Navy...is there no problem?" Hideki Tojo looked at Navy Minister Yamamoto Isoroku and Nagano Shushen who looked a little tired, "The Navy is not in a hurry to launch a special missile attack now, is it?"

Nagano Shushen and Yamamoto Isoroku looked at each other, and Nagano said: "There is no need to launch a missile attack within three months."

"Missile Attack" is the end and climax of "Operation Jet-1". According to the plan, 180-200 Silver Reaper missiles will cause a devastating blow to the aircraft carrier force of the U.S. Pacific Fleet!

After the "Missile Attack", the combined fleet's major counterattack will launch, dealing a devastating blow to the remaining U.S. Pacific Fleet and landing fleet. The U.S. ground forces that had landed on the Hawaiian Islands were completely wiped out after losing the cover and support of the fleet.

But now is not the time to launch a "special missile attack", because the Americans have just reached Palmyra Atoll and have not even touched Christmas Island, let alone landed on the Hawaiian Islands.

"How is the fight over at Palmyra Atoll?" Tojo Hideki then turned the topic to the ongoing battle at Palmyra Atoll.

Palmyra Atoll is nearly twice the size of Midway, and it is also an undefendable atoll. However, the Japanese army resisted there for a simple reason - it was an atoll.

The so-called "atoll", as the name suggests, is an annular island reef, surrounded by coral reef islands that emerge from the water, and a lagoon in the middle.

This special terrain can be used as a natural anchorage. The "Truk Anchorage" of the Japanese Combined Fleet is a large atoll.

Of course, Palmyra Atoll cannot be compared with Truk Atoll, which is much larger and can accommodate the entire combined fleet. The Palmyra Atoll has a limited area and can only accommodate a dozen ships at most. It is too small for the four huge US task forces.

But the Americans can put a floating dry dock into Palmyra Atoll!

A floating dry dock is a dry dock that can float on the sea. It can be moved on the sea and can load battleships and aircraft carriers with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons for overhaul, just like in a port. In order to complete the ship repair task, the floating dock cannot just be a dock. It must also be equipped with a power station and workshops for mechanics, electricians, carpenters, etc. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a mobile offshore ship repair yard.

And this kind of thing is a treasure for a fleet operating in the ocean. It allows one to have the ability to quickly repair capital ships near the battlefield. The current European Combined Fleet has four large floating docks, each of which can accommodate a "Hindenburg" class battleship.

Japan does not have such "luxuries". The strength of the Japanese navy lies in its combat fleet and aviation. Its various auxiliary ships, transport ships, and work ships cannot be compared with the United States, and are even far worse than Europe. Not to mention the floating dock, even the much cheaper repair work ship is only the Akashi.

However, although the Japanese Navy does not have a floating dock, its generals all know that there is such a thing.

Moreover, there is a small airport on Palmyra Atoll that can accommodate more than ten or twenty single-engine aircraft. There are enough P51B/Cs to deploy a squadron. Although it is not many, it is enough to provide certain air cover for the floating dock in the atoll.

Therefore, Palmyra Atoll, which is suitable for floating docks, must be defended no matter what, even if it is delayed for a little time.

In addition, the Japanese defense of Palmyra Atoll can also attract the US Navy's landing fleet, creating opportunities for submarines and heavy mine ships to attack.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister," Yamamoto Isoroku took over the topic and said, "The fleet in the central Pacific reported that the US assault fleet has formed an 8×8 square nautical mile square on the sea near Palmyra Atoll, and the naval guns are firing. It started this morning.”

8×8 square nautical miles landing ship? Tojo Kokoro said: Japanese landing ships are measured in units of "strips", while American landing ships were originally measured in units of square nautical miles...

"Then the 8th Fleet won't do nothing, right?" Tojo asked.

Yamamoto replied confidently: "The heavy mine assault force of the 8th Fleet has set off and will soon launch a heavy mine assault on the U.S. landing fleet! At the same time, the submarine will also launch a sneak attack... Tonight, Hawaii time, Dozens of American ships will be sunk around Palmyra Atoll!”

…

"Ali, our people have boarded, do you know what this means?"

Seeing amphibious tanks leading Marine Corps infantry onto the beach of Palmyra Atoll, Lieutenant General Kincaid, commander of the U.S. 31st Task Force, put down his binoculars and asked Arleigh Burke, who was standing straight next to him in military uniform. brigadier.

Arleigh Burke was promoted to commodore after the last "Pacific cruise" of the 58th Battle Fleet. His daily duties have also changed from chief of staff of the aircraft carrier group to commander of the patrol group.

By the way, this Arleigh Burke is actually the best destroyer force commander in the U.S. Navy. He has made a name for himself in the Atlantic and Caribbean battlefields. Even the German Navy knows that there is such a guy who makes good use of the destroyer force. When the destroyer squadron he commanded fought in the Caribbean, it won a total of 11 combat victories, sinking 12 European torpedo ships (8 German "Beast" class, 4 Italian "tornado" ships) and 4 Destroyers, one of which is the terrifying French "Utopia" class destroyer!

In addition to his remarkable achievements, he also invented a destructive trick specifically to deal with 93 oxygen torpedoes, which is to force the enemy ship to launch K11 or Mk15 torpedoes. The purpose is not to destroy the enemy with the torpedo, but to force the enemy ship to evade and delay the torpedo launch. His own bombardment bought time - because during the confrontation with the torpedo ships of the European Combined Fleet, he had discovered that the enemy's torpedoes were prone to explosion. Therefore, when the torpedoes are inferior to those of the opponent, simply use precise bombardment to destroy the opponent's torpedo.

Relying on this move, many European lightning strike ships were damaged in his hands. Later, he got the nickname "Thunder Strike Ship Killer" because of this.

However, what he has to deal with in the Pacific is not the European torpedo ships with weak firepower, but the powerful Japanese heavily torpedo-armed destroyers and cruisers. After the "First Night Battle of Midway", the Americans have realized that the Japanese will use torpedoes Night fighting, a formidable method on the Caribbean battlefield, was used against itself.

"Sir, the landing fleet will be attacked by Japanese destroyers tonight!" Arleigh Burke replied, "But I will let the Japanese destroyers who come for the night attack know how powerful they are."

"That's great," Kincaid patted Arleigh Burke on the shoulder, "Arleigh, tonight I have to lead the main force of the 31st task force to the open sea in concealment, so the landing ships and surrounding areas near Palmyra Atoll The Marine Corps on the reef can only rely on your patrol formation."

He paused and said, "Ali, do you have enough troops?"

"Enough!" Arleigh Burke said, "Four treaty heavy cruisers and 16 Gridley-class heavy torpedo destroyers are enough to deal with the Japanese devils."

It turns out that the United States also has heavy mine destroyers! It is the Gridley class designed and built in the 1930s. Its theoretical maximum speed is 38.5 knots, but in fact it can run up to 40 knots, which is only slower than the French "Utopia" class. The torpedo firepower is four 4-unit 533mm torpedo launch tubes, which cannot be reloaded. It is incomparable with the Shimakaze-class, which has three 5-unit 610mm torpedo tubes and can be reloaded once.

However, the number of "Gridley" classes is much greater than that of "Shimakaze" classes. Due to the needs of the tug-of-war in the Caribbean, this type of fast destroyer with a standard displacement of 1,500 tons was built in large numbers by the United States, with a total of dozens of ships.