Chapter 1174 The American Strategy

"Our navy doesn't seem to be strong enough, and we need to build more powerful warships!" Secretary of State Hull said.

President Roosevelt thought so. If the U.S. Navy hadn't been tricked by the Germans in previous battles and the entire army was wiped out, the U.S. Navy would definitely be much stronger than it is now. At least, in terms of battleships, they have more than ten more ships.

"Secretary of the Navy, what is the next phase of the Navy's construction plan?" President Roosevelt asked.

"Your Excellency, the Navy's warship plan for the next phase will mainly focus on aircraft carriers. In the major shipyards along the Atlantic coast, a total of eight aircraft carriers are under construction. The slowest one will also be built in the next year. And, as we become more proficient in the construction technology of the 'Essex-class' aircraft carrier, the construction speed is also faster and faster. Currently, we need two Years. However, we are confident that we will shorten the construction speed to one and a half years in the next batch. Even further shorten to one year!" Minister Swanson said.

President Roosevelt nodded, and the U.S. Navy has been strengthening the construction of aircraft carriers. In this battle, the aircraft carrier has become the main force in the naval battle, which is beyond doubt. Germany stopped building capital ships as early as the end of the last world war, and concentrated on conquering aircraft carriers. This puts Germany far ahead of the United States in terms of aircraft carriers.

Although, the United States has caught up after paying a huge price. However, the United States is still at a disadvantage in many respects. For example, the performance of the aircraft carrier and the performance of the carrier-based aircraft cannot be made up in a short time.

"Are there any arrangements for capital ships?" Roosevelt asked.

There are still a large number of people at the top of the US government who believe that capital ships are also irreplaceable. Therefore, after the "Montana-class" battleships, I think the US Navy needs to build more powerful battleships!

"Your Excellency, the Department of the Navy has no plans at this time!" Secretary Swanson said.

"Aren't the islanders building the 'Yamato-class' battleship? The 460mm main gun seems to be very powerful. Our 'Montana-class' is only a 410mm main gun." Secretary of State Hull asked.

"Yes, Your Excellency, Secretary of State. The Japanese 'Yamato-class' battleships use 460mm main guns with 45 times the caliber. In terms of performance, they are slightly stronger than our 406mm main guns with 50 times the caliber. However, in terms of overall strength In fact, our 'Montana-class' battleships are no worse than the Japanese 'Yamato-class' battleships." Swanson explained.

"If possible, we can build a battleship that is more powerful than the 'Yamato class' of the islanders. The main gun will be 18 inches. In this case, our naval strength will be further improved!" Secretary of State Hull said.

Swanson hesitated, then nodded.

Swanson is not a fool. He knows that Secretary of State Hull is speaking on behalf of the large domestic shipyards. The profit of building an aircraft carrier is far less than that of building a battleship. Therefore, those shipyard owners put pressure on the government. Although, the U.S. Navy wants to build more aircraft carriers with limited resources. After all, a battleship more powerful than the "Yamato-class" battleship can probably build two or more "Essex-class" aircraft carriers. However, at some point, compromise is also very necessary. Otherwise, huge contradictions will affect the unity within the government.

It is precisely because of this that the U.S. Navy agreed to build a battleship that is more powerful than the "Montana-class" battleship. With a displacement of more than 90,000 tons, it is equipped with three triple-mounted 18-inch main guns with a caliber of 50 times, and the armor is extremely thick. Of course, this also makes the cost of this class of battleships staggering, further consuming the national power of the United States.

"Your Excellency, according to the island nation's promise, they will attack the Germans at the end of January next year. At that time, the German Navy's Pacific Fleet and Indian Ocean Fleet will fight against the island nation's navy. If the island nation's navy can perform well, say Maybe we can attract the Mediterranean Fleet of the German Navy. In that case, our pressure on the Atlantic Ocean will be much less. Maybe we will have a chance to win!" said Admiral Harold Stark, Chief of Naval Operations .

President Roosevelt nodded: "The navies of the island countries are not weak, but in general, they are probably comparable to the German Navy's Pacific Fleet and Indian Ocean Fleet. But if they can really attract the German Navy's Mediterranean Fleet to the Pacific , that is very beneficial to us!"

If it is only to deal with the German Navy's home fleet and Atlantic Fleet, the U.S. Navy actually has a considerable advantage. With a bit of luck, defeating the German navy is not out of the question.

"So, it seems that we need to put more pressure on the islanders! In this case, it will be very beneficial for us to defeat the Germans!" Hopkins said.

"I hope God can bless the islanders and let them win in the Pacific Ocean. In this case, the Germans will have to send the Mediterranean Fleet to the Pacific Ocean." Secretary of State Hull also said.

"General Stark, if the German Navy's Mediterranean Fleet is sent to the Pacific Ocean, what chance does the U.S. Navy have to defeat the Germans?" President Roosevelt asked.

"Your Excellency, we have at least a 50% or even a 60% chance of winning. At that time, the U.S. Navy will launch an attack on the Azores, and strive to severely damage or even destroy the German Navy's Atlantic Fleet before the German Navy's home fleet arrives. .Then launch an ambush on the German Navy's home fleet that came to the Azores. If all goes well, we will have a great chance of defeating the German Navy. However, there are too many relevant factors in the naval battle. Whether we can really win , It’s very hard to say.” Admiral Harold Stark said.

Although the U.S. Naval Operations Department has drawn up a complete set of combat plans, as Admiral Harold Stark said, it is still very difficult to say whether everything will go as smoothly as they expected. After all, the German Navy is not a fool, and will not wait until they start attacking the Azores before sending the home fleet to sea. Maybe the U.S. Navy has just left the mainland, and the German Navy's home fleet has already set off. On the vast ocean, it will be very difficult to decide the outcome with a very powerful fleet.