What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 356 Air Combat in Hanover

Previous chapter supplementary images:
IX-class M-series aircraft carrier battleship "Kirsarge":
To avoid being caught red-handed, the Imperial Navy changed the official description of the USS Connecticut from "launched" to "commissioned," which actually coincided with the commissioning time of the USS Seawolf. However, the USS Connecticut remained in the shipyard for sea trials and outfitting, and it would take at least another year before it was actually commissioned.

But to the uninformed outsiders, all they saw was the official delivery of the world's most advanced "Seawolf-class" ship, and they marveled at the power of the Imperial Navy with a mixture of awe and fear.

When Tang Wen saw this scene on the news, he couldn't help but admire it:

"You can still play like this!"

Moreover, according to the Empire's external information, the situation on the east coast has been contained, and the Antarctic special dispatch fleet is being formed and will be dispatched before mid-May. The specific composition of the fleet has not yet been made public.

"Old Zhang, what do you think of the Antarctic expedition fleet's composition?"

Old Zhang, who was engrossed in the documents, looked up, sighed, and then lowered his head again.

Beside him were Qian Lin'an, Pan Jiefu, and Tan Qing, who were huddled together without any regard for their image, discussing which battleship was better.

Old Mi's suspicions should not be underestimated. After Tang Wen revealed this news, the country had no choice but to continue the "battleship" project and prepare to build another one to quell the storm.

Tang Wen offered a huge selection of warships to choose from, including historical ships, blueprint ships, and fictional ships, all piled together in a chaotic and dazzling manner.

However, what's most interesting are the two super battleships, Hanover and Maine, and the four M-class aviation battleships:

Class IX Kearsarge, Class VIII Inner Las Vegas, Class IX Delaware, Class X Louisiana.

The last three belong to the M-series silver coin tech tree, which Tang Wen can also unlock using experience points; they are all aviation battleships.

To persuade them, he even personally went to con them:

"An aviation battleship is great. Its artillery can provide ground support, and with four or five helicopter assault squadrons crammed on the deck, it can function as an amphibious assault ship. It's simply the best choice for amphibious landing operations."

We currently have the Z-9 and Z-8 helicopters domestically, which, combined with the A-4 helicopters for land attack support, are more than enough. Buying these is the best option.

"According to you, the Qi Jiguang ship can also do that."

“Yes, that deck is so big and great for helicopters, it’s practically a natural platform.”

"..."

The group scratched their heads. In fact, the expansion and modification of the deck at the stern of the 001 battleship was, strictly speaking, similar to the "naval warfare" approach. After all, it would be a real pity not to make use of such a large deck area.

Qian Lin'an: "But the largest of these aircraft carrier battleships is only over 7 tons, which is not enough to carry the 600mm naval gun you mentioned."

"Then let's convert the Hanover into an aviation battleship, either with a straight stern like the Qi Jiguang, or a mid-deck design like the Kearsarge?"

Alternatively, expanding other M-series solutions to 100,000 tons is a minor issue; Gaijin will take responsibility and provide a lifetime warranty.

After discussing it, the group concluded that although the design of these super battleships was incomprehensible, their massive hulls were still very valuable, and if they had to choose one, the Hanover would be a suitable option.

Perhaps tormented by these bizarre designs for too long, Tan Qing became somewhat delirious and began revising the blueprints for the Hanover:

"Then, following the idea of ​​simultaneously strengthening amphibious operations, the central building will be raised upwards and transformed into a helicopter hangar and flight deck, with the sides flaring outwards by 3 to 5 meters, the deck width extended to 52 to 55 meters, and the tail extended to the top of the No. 3 turret, with the front and rear corners reshaped."

Replacing four twin-mounted 483mm guns with four twin-mounted... Is it possible to do this with 24-inch or 610mm guns, by reducing turret armor thickness and weight?

His voice trembled slightly as he uttered this figure; regardless, it was an absolutely insane number.

Tang Wen got up and walked to the side, mentally considering the feasibility of this plan:
Type 97 610mm 50-caliber gun:
Caliber: 610mm
Length: 33 meters

Cross-sectional area: 2752 square centimeters
Weight: 420 tons

Type 97 610mm twin turret:

Rate of fire: 40 seconds

Rotation speed: 1.5 degrees/second

Weight: 3997 tons

Tang Wen glanced at the weight and knew it was feasible. The four turrets weighed a total of 16,000 tons, which was actually not bad for a warship with a mass of nearly 100,000 tons.

The Hanover was designed with a draft of only 10.5 meters, and adding another meter wouldn't be a problem.

"Sure, and do you have any speed requirements?"

Tang Wen not only agreed, but also suggested:
"The boilers in Hanover are only 25 horsepower. If we replace them with 28 horsepower boilers, we might be able to increase the speed to over 31 knots."

"Alright, alright, let's calculate the price first?" This power system is definitely not cheap, and Lao Zhang doesn't think he can get it for a bargain price of 10 billion this time.

“No problem... Two hundred billion, just take it from the loan.”

"Sigh~"

The four of them gasped, but they didn't think it was too expensive. This was a 100,000-ton warship, and building it themselves wouldn't necessarily be cheaper.

Old Zhang rubbed his thighs vigorously, saying, "An aircraft carrier battleship costs this much? A hundred billion is simply not enough to spend."

Can you offer a discount?

"Hmm... In that case, we'll include the second Type 055 hull, saving you another 100 million in cash. And we'll throw in two cruisers? Cheshire, Edinburgh, Fiji, Zara... we'll sell them all off."

"Just this little bit?"

"This year, I only need to pay 16 billion in interest. Any more and I'll lose money! And if I place an order now, I can pick up the goods in two months at most, which is just in time for Hong Kong's return to China."

"walk slowly."

Considering that the Navy is about to receive another special budget approval, a few billion dollars a year is really not much.

……

Think tank.

"No wreckage has been found at the location where the Tirpitz sank."

"Bismarck, no wreckage found."

"Hipper, no wreckage found."

"No wreckage found on the Yamato."

"Hood, no wreckage found."

"Roma, not found..."

"..."

The location of those old warship wrecks was not a problem for the IAA; they directly allocated funds to mobilize civilian organizations in various regions to search for them.

However, the result was astonishing:

None at all!

When reports from various regions flew back, both the think tank and the Imperial Navy were astonished.

Not only German warships, but warship wreckage from almost every country has been lost, with the loss of some of the more famous warship wreckage being particularly severe.

When Kazimirz arrived, he covered his head, feeling somewhat dizzy.

"God, I have some doubts about whether the last great war was an illusion implanted by aliens. How could they disappear?"

Thankfully, the Seawolf and the ships in Wisconsin and Iowa didn't disappear; otherwise, I would have suspected it was a miracle.

York from the Paranormal Investigation Bureau was also there. He personally led a team to the sites of several well-known German warships that had sunk, and his expression was even more grave.
"Most of the wreckage of these warships is broken and it wouldn't be difficult to salvage them, but we need to know what their purpose was."

Brest: "Is it possible to salvage and repair these wrecks?"

He looked at Matt, the most authoritative shipbuilding engineer here.

The latter's answer was firm: "That would be a nightmare for any shipyard. The condition of the hull is unimaginable. Every corner is full of mud and marine life. No one would do something so stupid."

"What about other values? Like steel."

"The warship steel is indeed good, but... it's too troublesome. It's just some low-radiation steel, and it's not like you can only get it by salvaging warships."

The group was completely clueless, and finally York spoke up:
"Gentlemen, this is a very important breakthrough. If we know the purpose of these wrecks, we may be able to crack the secrets of the Second Fleet."

We should continue to expand the area for searching the wreckage, and it would be best to salvage a few more to see if there's anything special about them.

(End of this chapter)