Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

Reported by Redl Report. "Your Highness, according to your instructions, the transformation of the amphibious assault ship went smoothly."

Speaking of amphibious assault ships, they were invented by Japan during World War II.

As we all know, the Japanese army has always had a tradition of discord between the army and the navy, which did not stop even during World War II. From the general strategic direction to specific technical equipment, the conflicts between the army and the navy have gone beyond the general service disputes. During the war, the army and navy, which originally needed to unite sincerely regardless of past grudges, still went their own way. Throughout the war, the cooperation between the army and the navy was far from a tacit understanding, and there were many times when they undermined each other. Due to this enemy-like relationship between the army and the navy, the two sides also went their separate ways in equipment research and development, which led to the famous joke in the history of World War II that "the army builds aircraft carriers and the navy builds tanks."

When the Army first designed the large landing ships it needed, it referred to the lessons learned from the landing operations in World War I and the landing battlefields it might face in the future. However, at this time, the experience and lessons learned from actual combat made the Army's needs for landing ships more clear. clear understanding.

The first "aircraft carrier" was ordered by the Ministry of War, and the Navy Ship Administration Headquarters was entrusted with basic design. Construction started at Harima Shipyard on April 8, 1933, was launched on March 14 of the following year, and was completed on November 15 of the same year. The first "aircraft carrier" did not have a direct flight deck. It was essentially closer to a dock landing ship. Above the huge superstructure of the deck was a small boat deck, which could park 16 small-engine landing ships, and the interior was equipped with aircraft. Hangar, in order to conceal the true function of this large box-shaped building, the military falsely called the deck in the building the "horse stall deck", which means that the hangar was described as a cabin set up to carry military horses. This box-shaped building is about 5 meters high. Below the "horse fence deck" are the soldier cabins and the crew's living quarters. The front and rear of the superstructure are used to carry large-engine landing ships and armored boats. In order to quickly load and unload, there is a large crane on each side.

As a landing ship, the core of the Shenzhou Maru is the loaded 25 large-engine landing ships, which can be launched into the water in three ways: deck crane, stern movable plate and slide, and side door crane amidships. The landing ship with its tailgate entering the water can directly load the Type 89 Chinese tank. The aviation operation capability is achieved through catapults. It is expected to carry 12 Type 91 fighter jets. However, there is no aviation deck on the ship, and the aircraft cannot return to the ship to land. In actual combat, once the aircraft ejects and takes off, it can only count on the army brothers who are ashore to fight quickly. Come down to a piece of flatter ground, otherwise the "Imperial Land Eagles" would not bother to land on the Navy's Red Deer aircraft carrier.

Later, the US military named this kind of ship "Landing Helicopter Dock", or LHD for short; the literal translation is helicopter dock landing ship. This highly summarizes the definition of amphibious assault ship, three key words - helicopter + dock + landing. It is both There is a dock landing ship dock for loading landing craft or amphibious tanks; there is also a large flight deck for carrying and supporting the take-off and landing of helicopters (including vertical take-off and landing aircraft).

The German naval department transformed the original 10,000-ton escort aircraft carrier into an amphibious assault ship.

Because it was transformed from an aircraft carrier, this amphibious assault ship can naturally also take off and land aircraft. However, the hangar has been greatly reduced. The hangar can only accommodate 4 A-1 attack aircraft. In addition, 6 more can be docked on the deck. This amphibious assault ship can only carry 10 A-1 attack aircraft and 4 helicopters.

The interior of the amphibious assault ship has been modified to include three additional compartments for loading landing craft/landing vehicles. The cabin can carry 10 landing craft of different types.

Today, Germany's standard landing craft is the LCVP landing craft of the United States in World War II. It can be said to be one of the most important weapons of the U.S. military in World War II. This is mainly due to its outstanding ability to quickly drop, evacuate or repeatedly transport troops, equipment and supplies to enemy beachheads. Except for the landing ladder at the bow, the entire boat is made of wood. The LCVP boat has a total length of 9 meters and a width of 2 meters. Under full load, the ship has a draft of 1 meter, a displacement of 12 tons, and a maximum speed of 9 knots.

In addition, there is the LCM (2) type landing craft. Its structure is quite simple. It only takes 2 to assemble a landing craft. The landing craft has a total length of 7 meters, a width of 3 meters, a full load displacement of 3 tons, and a retractable bow landing ladder. , can carry a 16-ton tank. Unlike the wooden LCVP landing craft, the LCM (2) uses a completely metal hull. The control area is protected by 6 mm armored steel plates, and two 62 mm machine guns are installed on the boat.

There is also an improved version of LCM (2), LCM (3). The total length is 2 meters, and the full load displacement reaches 2 tons. It can carry a medium tank or armored vehicle weighing 30 tons.

In addition, the amphibious assault ship is equipped with a high-level dual-purpose anti-aircraft gun and an anti-aircraft machine gun. Among them, high-level and flat dual-purpose guns can be used to bombard the shore to support landing troops.

Yannick asked. "How many amphibious landing ships can be ready by the end of February? Can the number of landing craft be guaranteed?"

A landing battle is an operation that pays great attention to transportation. In addition to the first wave of ships hitting the beach, you must also prepare for the follow-up of three to four waves of troops. The number of landing ships not only determines the intensity of the landing, but also determines the strength of the landing. This ensures the continuation of the combat effectiveness of the landing force. Once the follow-up inability problem occurs, the landing force will face the danger of annihilation. This is a key issue that cannot be ignored.

"According to the current progress, 15 amphibious landing ships can be prepared, and the number of landing craft can also be guaranteed. The floating dock you ordered has also been prepared."

For beach landings, in the past, beach grabbing points were always near the enemy's ports. This was to replenish subsequent troops and supplies in a timely manner to prevent the leading troops from being wiped out by the enemy or driven into the sea. But the enemy is not a fool, and of course he will deploy heavy troops to protect these strategic locations. In this way, even if the attacker pays an extremely heavy price, he may not be able to successfully land. Even if he is lucky enough to succeed, the port may be completely destroyed by the enemy in advance, rendering it useless.

During the Normandy landings, the Allies used a temporary splicing dock like a pontoon to build a dock that could handle cargo in the Normandy area where there was no port!

This feat, or creativity, gave the Allies greater flexibility during landing operations. Its emergence technically solves the problem of selecting landing sites, and can also forcibly guarantee the logistical supplies of landing troops when necessary.

"Very good." Yannick nodded with satisfaction. "It seems everything is ready now."