"Imperial Marshal, Your Excellency Marshal, this type of ship is called an army aircraft carrier by the Japanese, and we call it an amphibious assault ship. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info is actually based on an escort aircraft carrier to be modified, so that it can carry landing craft, landing forces, carrier-based attack aircraft at the same time, and has a high-level dual-purpose gun that can carry out ground bombardment. In fact, this is a multi-functional ship that integrates the main functions of light aircraft carriers, landing ships, gunboats, and other ships......"

In Kiel Harbor, which looked somewhat empty after most of the ships had left for Gibraltar, the commander of the German Marine Corps, Admiral Graeme, was introducing Hersmann and Schleicher to a newly commissioned ship that looked a bit like an aircraft carrier.

This is the amphibious assault ship "Baltic", which belongs to the German Marine Corps, and it is based on the 12,000-ton escort aircraft carrier C. The standard displacement is about the same as that of the C ship, reaching 12500 tons, and the full load displacement reaches 18300 tons. Driven by two marine diesel engines with a power of 6,000 hp, it can reach a top speed of 20 knots.

Like ordinary aircraft carriers, the amphibious assault ship "Baltic" has a straight-through deck, which can take off and land aircraft. However, its hangar is small, which can only accommodate 9 HS-123T carrier-based ground attack aircraft, and 6 such biplane ground attack aircraft can be tethered on the straight-through flight deck, making the number of carrier-based aircraft reach 15, which is half less than its prototype C aircraft.

In addition to the hangar for the carrier-based aircraft, the interior of the amphibious assault ship has a landing craft/landing vehicle compartment that occupies the entire three decks. The cabin can carry 10 Type B landing craft (personnel landing craft) with a light load displacement of 6 tons, 20 Type E landing craft (vehicle landing craft) with a light load displacement of 6.5 tons, 20 vehicles carried by E boat (which can carry 1 truck), 22 Type 3M waterway amphibious tanks equipped with 50 mm L/60 long-barreled guns, and 2,000 fully armed Marine Corps officers and men.

In addition, the "Baltic" has 6 twin 128mm high-level guns, 6 twin 40mm anti-aircraft guns and 16 13mm anti-aircraft machine guns. Among them, six twin-mounted 128mm high-level dual-purpose guns can be used to bombard and support the landing force from the opposite side.

And on the top platform of the island of the amphibious assault ship "Baltic", two 41-barreled rocket launchers called Type 150mm smoke launchers were also installed. This rocket launcher is a product of DORNIER, using a DO38 rocket weighing 53 kilograms, with a range of up to 6 kilometers, and the effect of supporting landing operations is also very ideal.

"Franz, how many Baltic-class ships can be ready by the end of May?" Disembarking from the "Baltic", Hersmann asked Graeme.

"It is possible to have 5 ships of the 'Baltic' class ready." The commander of the Marine Corps, Senior General Graeme, replied.

Field Marshal Schleicher, commander-in-chief of the Western Front, said: "That would be 10,000 officers and 110 No. 3 tanks." ”

"How many T-type landing ships can there be by the end of May?" Hersman asked again.

The T-type landing ship is currently the largest landing ship in Germany, with a light load displacement of 1,500 tons, a full load displacement of 3,750 tons, a beach-grabbing limit displacement of 2,450 tons, and a 4,000 hp diesel engine, with a maximum speed of 16 knots. During landing operations, the bow hatch can be opened, allowing infantry and vehicles to rush directly to the beachhead.

"There are many T-types, of which 25-30 T-1 landing ships can be prepared, 12 T-2 fire support ships can participate in the battle, 8 T-3 air defense support ships can be prepared, 6 T-4 life-saving salvage ships, 5 T-5 multi-purpose repair ships, 5 T-6 landing supply ships, 4 T-6 landing hospital ships, T-7 ammunition supply ships and T-8 seaplane carriers."

The Type T landing ship was designed to be used as a simple tank landing ship, carrying not only the No. 3 amphibious tank, but also the No. 4 tank and the No. 3 assault gun or the Wasp self-propelled howitzer, as well as a considerable number of infantry.

Later, however, when the German Marine Corps Command was studying landing operations, it was found that they needed not only landing ships capable of transporting soldiers and vehicles, but also a variety of ships that could support landing operations. Although the Navy's ships can afford these tasks of supporting landing operations, it is not always as good as asking for others. So after the German Marine Corps was upgraded to an independent service, it began to magically transform the T-type landing ship, and finally made 8 sub-series. With the addition of 5 ships of the "Baltic" class, the marines can already fight a landing battle without the direct support of naval ships.

Provided, of course, that the enemy's Grand Fleet does not show up, that it has overwhelming air superiority, and that there are no densely packed coastal armoured batteries at the landing sites - the beaches of Ireland are clearly the best battlefield for these Baltic-class and T-boats.

However, it will not be easy to get as many as 78 T-boats and 5 Baltic-class amphibious assault ships from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, to Ireland. Not only because the entire range is almost 900 nautical miles, but it takes 60 hours of continuous travel at a speed of 15 knots.

It is also because it is necessary to cross the heavily blocked English Channel, the most dangerous section of which is the 30-40 km long Strait of Dover, which is only 28.8 km at its narrowest point.

"Mr. Prime Minister, the strait in front of you is the narrowest part of the Strait of Dover, and Europe under Nazi Germany is 28.8 kilometers away. Our Dover cannon is more than capable of sending a 2,000-pound shell across the channel! ”

Churchill had returned from the United States to Britain, which was about to invade, and the day after his return to England, he inspected Dover, the most likely landing place for German troops. This is the closest area of the British Isle to the European mainland, so close that you can see the opposite shore with the naked eye on a good day (presumably with the Japanese cat-eye warriors).

As a result, since the fall of France in 1940, Dover has been a key area for the British Home Defence Force. Baron Ironside, the commander of the Home Defence Force, who was now inspecting the Dover Fort with Churchill, was confident in Dover's defense.

He told Churchill: "If the Germans had landed in the immediate aftermath of the fall of France, there would be only antiques to defend against Napoleon available here in Dover." Now, however, we have eight armoured batteries armed with 16-inch (406mm) Mark2 guns, which have a full range of the ports of Wissan and Sangat on the opposite shore, and can also fire at Calais if extended-range shells are used. ”

The eight armoured batteries in Dover are all twin-mounted, and the cannons are all of the best British 16-inch guns, with a maximum range of 36.5 km, which can be extended to 40 km if special range extender shells are used, allowing the shells to fall into Calais.

"Can you hit a target at sea?" Churchill squinted at the foggy strait, it was early in the morning, and the sea was as foggy as usual.

"No problem," replied Baron Ironside, "each armoured battery has a state-of-the-art set of 284 fire control radars, so that even in the middle of the night, Dover's cannons can hit a battleship 30 kilometers away." ”

Of course, this is a bit of a braggadocio, although the 284 radar can barely act as a fire control, it still needs flare cooperation to effectively hit enemy ships. However, with 16 16-inch (406mm) cannons guarding the Strait of Dover, it was not easy for the landing ship group to get through.

"In addition, there are not only these 8 armored batteries in Dover, we have another 12 batteries." Baron Ironside, seeing Churchill's brow furrowed slightly, added, "Three of them are equipped with 15-inch/42-fold mark-1 guns (26.5 km), three are equipped with 14-inch/45-fold mark7 guns, and six are equipped with 12-inch old guns, but they are more than enough to deal with heavy cruisers." ”

"That is, 40 cannons," Qiu Fatzi nodded, "It's enough to deal with surface ships, what about air defense?" ”

"There are a total of 10 anti-aircraft artillery positions in the Dover area, with 240 twin 40mm Bofors and single 3.7-inch (94mm) anti-aircraft guns. ”

"Didn't have a heavy anti-aircraft gun capable of hitting 11,000 meters?" Churchill asked.

"No, the 5.25-inch (133mm) anti-aircraft gun is not produced much, and now it can only meet the needs of the Navy."

Thanks to the advent of wire-controlled gliding bombs that could be dropped at an altitude of 10,000 meters, all British large and medium-sized surface ships and even large merchant ships were now equipped with 5.25-inch heavy anti-aircraft guns. As soon as the demand is amplified, the output will naturally not be able to keep up.

Baron Ironside did not seem very relieved when he saw Churchill, and added: "Prime Minister, the RAF Fighter Command already has a number of Spitfires and Mustang fighters (P51s), and the German bombers will have to suffer if they dare to come." ”

"It's still necessary to equip the 5.25-inch anti-aircraft gun as soon as possible." Qiu Fatzi gave instructions, and then asked, "Is there a way to deal with the German airborne troops?" Those guys are amazing! ”

"Of course we are prepared," replied Baron Ironside, "that we have deployed the 30th Panzer Brigade in Dover, which can be used both to counter the beachhead and to destroy the German airborne forces. In addition, our army near the Strait of Dover is very strong, in addition to the 30th Armored Brigade, there are 1 motorized infantry division, 1 infantry division, 1 fortress division and 1 air defense division, with a total strength of more than 50,000 men, enough to repel any invading enemy! (To be continued.) )