Gulf of Riga, 10 October 1941. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

On the beautiful and calm sea, the sea water that was broken by the bow of the "Emperor Wilhelm II" (P-class armored ship, also known as the Kaiser Wilhelm II class) dispersed to both sides like a tumbling white pearl.

The armoured ship, named after the German Kaiser, who died in June, has now completed sea trials and is officially part of the German High Seas Fleet.

The design and construction of this armored assault ship, with a standard displacement of 23,700 tons and was once pinned on by the German Navy, was a bit tortuous. At first, Hersman was not interested in this kind of expensive "broken ship" and wanted to strangle the project. At the beginning of 1941, the German Navy General Command wanted to convert the four "Kaiser Wilhelm II" class armored ships under construction into aircraft carriers. However, these 4 armored ships, which were a little outdated, were finally completed thanks to a special weapon, the V1 man-operated flying bomb - and now the P-class armored ship has become a missile cruiser!

The spacious seaplane deck in the amidships, now a missile deck. Where it was planned to install two steam catapults, two manned missile launchers are now installed. On one of them, a very strange-looking V3 human trainer missile has been placed.

Originally, Germany had a total of two missile projects, the V1 project and the V2 project. According to the division of later generations, V1 is a cruise missile, and V2 is a ballistic missile. The V3 was an improvised project to replace the currently unreliable impulse jet engine with a rear-mounted piston engine and propeller propulsion system. In addition, the V3 does not have a remote-controlled navigation system, and a pilot must lie in a narrow cockpit to fly the missile. And on Hersman's orders, the designers also eliminated the escape device. So it's a suicide bomb!

"Captain Leitch, it must be a terrible feeling to fly this suicide missile, right?" Imperial Field Marshal Hersman was talking to the test pilot who was going to fly the V3 missile today.

The pilot who flew the test missile turned out to be a lady, petite and delicate, but not beautiful, with a big head, a wide forehead, and an unsightly big nose and a big mouth. Her name is Hannah. Leich is one of the few female test pilots in Germany and the world, and one of the best test pilots in the Luftwaffe.

A week ago, for her contribution to the test flight and development of the V3 missile, Field Marshal Hersman personally awarded her an honorary Air Force Captain and the Iron Cross of the Second Class.

And the V3 man wields a missile as a pit weapon, and the reason why he found Hannah, the shortest test pilot in the Luftwaffe. Captain Leich conducted the test flight because the missile was to be used by the Japanese -- the V3 missile was an improved version of the V1 missile, and it was not very large, with a diameter of only 0.82 meters, and a fat man like Goering could not fit it in. Fortunately, it is not the Germans who will fly this missile in the future, but the small Japanese devils, so the cockpit of the missile is made very small, and it can only accommodate people like Hannah. A little man like Leich.

Hearing Hersman's question, Hannah. Leich thought about it seriously, and then said: "Imperial Marshal, I can only say that this V3 missile is a difficult aircraft to control, it has to fly at an altitude almost close to the surface of the sea, at a speed of 500-600 kilometers per hour. This requires a high level of driving skill and full concentration on control. So when I drove it, I didn't have much energy to think about anything else. ”

Hersman nodded, and asked again, "It's hard to drive, isn't it?" ”

"Very, very hard," said Hannah. "So we designed a two-seater V3 trainer missile. It is also recommended that every 'Dreadnought' must have at least an A2 flight certificate before undergoing at least 20 hours of V3 flight training. ”

"So how many people have mastered the skills of flying V3 missiles now?" Hersman asked with a smile.

"Marshal of the Reich," Hannah. Leitch replied in a tone of great pride, "I'm the only one in the world who can fly a V3 missile. ”

"Your Excellency, Marshal," said the chief designer of the V3 missile, Paul. Dr. Schmitt added, "It's hard enough to fly a missile, it's even harder to land it, and only Ms. Leitch can do it at the moment." ”

Hannah. Leitch was piloting a landing V3 missile, and the warhead of the missile was a fake with no explosives. In fact, this V3 missile is an airplane with a rear engine, and the aerodynamic shape is very unfavorable for landing, and the pilot has to lie down to fly, just think about how bad it is.

"But the true 'intrepids' don't have to master the landing technique." Hannah. "The pilots who can land it have the skills to be aces, and it is impossible to be fearless." ”

Hersmann smiled and said, "It's none of my business, I'm not going to let the Germans drive something like this." ”

Suicide missiles are clearly things that jump over the wall in a hurry, and Germany is in such a good situation now, what kind of "suicide weapons" are it engaged in? This thing is for Japanese friends, and they don't care who they want to drive, and of course Hersman doesn't care.

"Hannah, would you like to go to Japan?" Hersman asked Hannah with a smile. Leich.

"To Japan?" Hannah. Leitch was stunned.

"They need V3 missiles, and since you're the only test pilot who can fly V3s, you're the only instructor," Hersman said. ”

Before coming to the Gulf of Riga to observe the test flight of the V3 missile, Hersman received a telegram from Lieutenant General Paulus, on which Paulus reported Japan's "Hawaii Operational Strategy" and the latest request for assistance.

Hirschman was not in favor of a two-step attack on Hawaii, but there was nothing he could do to change the plans of the Japanese. As for the Japanese side's request for two aircraft carriers, Hersmann will certainly not agree -- the two "Yamato" class aircraft carriers will not come to Europe, and of course the German aircraft carriers will not be able to go to the Pacific Ocean, but the "missile cruisers" can send one to the Pacific Ocean to help.

The P-class armoured ships are designed for breaking up diplomatic ties, so they have a top speed of up to 33 knots and a range of 25,000 nautical miles (13 knots). Enough to drive from Bergen around South America to Truk Atoll (the anchorage of the Combined Fleet) in the western Pacific.

If it takes 36 days to sail at a cruising speed of 19 knots, it can be reached before Pearl Harbor. Of course, it is also possible to stop at an Argentine port with good relations with Germany and refuel on the way.

And now that the autumn equinox has passed, the Arctic has entered the polar night period, and the night time in the Danish Strait in the Arctic Circle has reached almost 20 hours, and even during the day, the sea conditions and weather there are very bad, and it is difficult for airplanes to function. Therefore, as long as it is escorted by two Bismarck-class ships and several cruisers and destroyers, it is still easy for a P-class armored ship to break through the Danish Strait.

And as long as this P-class armored ship does not break diplomatic relations after breaking through the strait, it is impossible for the British to send their home fleet to chase and intercept them. After all, blocking the Strait of Gibraltar and preventing the French and Italian fleets from breaking through into the Atlantic Ocean is currently the top priority of the British Royal Navy.

……

"Mr. President, a German fleet seems to have broken through the Danish Strait into the North Atlantic!"

On the morning of October 15, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Stark made an urgent call to President Roosevelt.

"A German fleet?" Roosevelt frowned, "Did our fleet stop them?" ”

"President, this German fleet has at least 20 ships, of which most likely there are 2 Bismarck-class battleships......"

Roosevelt's face was gloomy, and a perfect opportunity to get the United States into the war was wasted by the officers and men of the Navy who were greedy for life and afraid of death!

"So...... Did we send a boat to track them? Roosevelt asked again.

"After a while...... Admiral Stark's voice was a little dry, "but soon there was a storm at sea, and the radar of one of our light cruisers was destroyed by the storm, so we lost track of each other. ”

"So a whole German fleet is now breaking through the Atlantic, and we don't know where they are?"

"Yes...... Mr. President. ”

In fact, an entire German fleet has now returned to Bergen, and only one P-class armored ship, the "Emperor Frederick III", is now heading for South America at a speed of 19 knots.

"Then let the Atlantic Fleet go out and search for this German fleet, and in any case get to know their whereabouts!" Roosevelt gave the order and hung up the phone. Then he glanced at Secretary of State Hull, who was sitting across from him.

"Mr. President, the trouble for the British seems to be getting bigger." Hull already knew what was going on from Roosevelt and Stark's conversation.

Roosevelt sighed softly, spread his hands and said, "But those people always refused to let me become a wartime president right away." ”

Those people must include the officers and men of the American Atlantic Fleet who are greedy for life and afraid of death! If they dared to go out of port in the dark to pounce on the German fleet, it would probably lead to an engagement.

Of course, the result must have been thousands of American soldiers dying for their country with a smile...... It is a pity that President Roosevelt did not have such brave soldiers. So he had to think of other ways to drag the peaceful and prosperous United States into the war.

And the way, at the moment, it seems that there are only two. One is to engage in some conspiracies that cannot be put on the table; The second is to persecute Japan in an upright manner.

However, the current Institutional Revolutionary Party in Mexico has a very bad relationship with Germany because it has sheltered the Spanish republican government, and it is an insult to the intelligence of the American people to say that Germany wants to unite with Mexico to fight the United States.

As for the trick of blowing up a ship and then planting it on the Germans, it can be done, but there is no guarantee that the Reichstag will pass the test. Because many members of the US Congress are now worried that the United States will probably not be able to defeat Germany, and they do not believe that the Red Soviet Union can help much.

So President Roosevelt could only trouble the Japanese devils for help! (To be continued.) )