Chapter 163 Aircraft Carrier
At the end of September 1912, Qin Tian went to the Ministry of the Navy and called on the Minister of the Navy, Marshal Count Tirpitz.
It is less than two years since the war broke out. Time is getting tighter, which also makes Qin Tian more and more busy. Although, it has been prepared for many years. However, Qin Tian is still not completely sure whether he can completely win the war in the future. Therefore, Qin Tian could only make as many preparations as possible to increase his own chances of winning.
"Your Majesty Marshal, how is the navy's war preparations going?" After some brief greetings, Qin Tian went directly to the main topic.
"Your Highness, the navy's preparations for war have been proceeding in an orderly manner. Capital ships at all levels are strengthening their training, so that they can be immediately engaged in the war once a war breaks out!" Marshal Earl Tirpitz said.
Compared with another time and space, the German navy in this time and space is not a little bit stronger. Even though the pace of building capital ships of the British Navy has begun to accelerate, relatively speaking, the gap between the two sides is not that big. The number of dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts in active service in the German Navy is astonishing, including four 'Nassau-class' battleships, five 'Helgoland-class' battleships, five 'Kaiser-class' battleships, and five 'König-class' battleships , three 'Blücher-class' battlecruisers, three 'Moltke-class' battlecruisers and three 'Derfflinger-class' battlecruisers. In addition, five "Bavaria-class" battleships and three "Makensen-class" battlecruisers are under construction. Once these battleships are all completed and put into service, the German Navy will have a huge fleet of 24 battleships and 12 battlecruisers. In terms of quantity, it is almost the same as that of the British Navy. In terms of performance, it is even stronger than the British Navy. Therefore, once a decisive sea battle breaks out between the two sides, the possibility of the German navy winning is much greater than in another time and space.
Of course, these are data on paper only. The factors that determine the outcome of a sea battle are far more than these. In addition to the number and performance of warships, there are also the quality of personnel, intelligence, tactics, and even luck.
Qin Tian nodded, he also had a lot of confidence in the powerful fleet that he almost built by himself. However, no one has ever been able to guarantee such things as naval battles. Only after everything is settled can the winner be truly determined.
"Your Highness, it is expected that the 'Bavaria-class' and 'Mackensen-class' battleships will not be able to serve until the end of 1914 or the beginning of 1915. Will they still be able to catch up with this war?" Marshal Count Tirpitz asked. The current situation is getting more and more tense, and it seems that war may break out at any time, which makes Marshal Earl Tirpitz a little worried. The "Bavaria-class" battleships and the "Makensen-class" battlecruisers are the most powerful battleships of the German Navy. It would be a pity if they did not participate.
"Should be able to catch up! Even if the war breaks out, the decisive battle will not be fought in a short while. In the early stage of the war, it will be the time for our battlecruisers and underwater troops to perform." Qin Tian said.
Once the war broke out, the German Navy's long-prepared battlecruiser formation and submarine force would attack the British sea transportation line, completely paralyzing the British overseas trade, thereby weakening Britain's war potential as much as possible. Even if the goal of forcing Britain to withdraw from the war is not achieved, at least the British can suffer heavy losses. At that time, the navy will use its main force to fight the final decisive battle with the British navy. Of course, by that time, I am afraid that even if the German navy does not seek a decisive battle with the British, the British will seek a decisive battle with the German navy. If the sea transportation line is cut off, Britain will not last much time at all.
Marshal Earl Tirpitz nodded, feeling relieved a lot.
"Your Highness, does Your Highness have any plans for the follow-up models of the 'Bavaria-class' battleships and the 'Mackenson-class' battlecruisers?" Marshal Earl Tirpitz asked. According to the plan, after the construction of the "Bavaria-class" battleship and the "Mackenson-class" battlecruiser reached the middle stage, the construction of the next-level battleship should start.
"Let's wait a little longer for the next level of battleships! Perhaps, that will be our last level of battleships and battlecruisers!" Qin Tian sighed.
"What? Your Highness, aren't we going to build battleships in the future?" Count Tirpitz was shocked.
Qin Tian nodded: "Soon, battleships and battlecruisers will become obsolete, and building these capital ships is a complete waste."
Marshal Earl Tirpitz was completely stunned. He never imagined that how could these majestic battleships be outdated? From Qin Tian's point of view, it seems that only in this war, they are the protagonists, and it seems that they will not be needed in the next war.
"Your Excellency Marshal, Your Majesty and the generals of the army visited the 8th Army not long ago. They watched the performance of the 8th Army's aviation team and were very shocked." Qin Tian said.
Marshal Earl Tirpitz nodded, he knew about it. With his relationship with Qin Tian, he naturally knew that Qin Tian was speeding up the development of aircraft. However, does this have anything to do with the obsolescence of capital ships?
"If fighter planes can take off from the platform on the sea and attack the warships on the sea, do you think those warships can escape?" Qin Tian asked.
"This, how is this possible? How can those toy-like things threaten the tens of thousands of tons of capital ships!" Marshal Earl Tirpitz couldn't believe it.
"Your Excellency Marshal, although it is hard for you to accept. However, this is the fact. In fact, Deutsche Werft is already building such an offshore platform. I call it an aircraft carrier. These aircraft carriers can carry bombers equipped with torpedoes and go out to sea to fight .Once the target is found, these bombers will take off and attack the target with torpedoes from a distance of more than 100 kilometers." Qin Tian continued.
It took a while for Marshal Count Tirpitz to accept this fact. However, the shock that Qin Tian brought to him this time was so great that his world view seemed to have been subverted.
"Your Highness, let's go to the Deutschland Shipyard immediately. I want to see those things called aircraft carriers with my own eyes. If what His Highness said is true, the Imperial Navy must be equipped with this weapon!" Marshal Earl Tirpitz said firmly.
Since the era of giant ship cannons is about to pass, the German Navy must firmly grasp the sharp weapon of the next era.
