"In the future, we will have a very difficult task, not only to transport troops to Europe to help Britain and France defend themselves against the evil Allied forces, but also to ensure the safety of navigation in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, without which we cannot support the production of goods produced by the colonies scattered around the world. Admiral Majifen, what do you think? President Wilson asked.

"It's difficult, it's hard for our forces to achieve this goal, especially during the treaty period, and the Entente has a small advantage in terms of overall tonnage. And in terms of combat strength, our actual combat effectiveness is on a par with that of the Allies. I have always believed that the conversion of two Lexington-class fast battleships into aircraft carriers is the biggest failure in our arms negotiations, because it will cause a great waste of aircraft carrier tonnage, perhaps after accumulating enough experience, Huaxia or Germany can achieve the same combat power with a tonnage much smaller than that of Lexington-class aircraft carriers, and the armor and hulls prepared for fast battleships are not suitable for aircraft carriers. Majifen said after taking a sip of water to moisten his throat.

"This is the decision of Congress, they came up with this idea in order to save more money, after all, we spent tens of millions of dollars to build these hulls, and we can't just throw it away." President Wilson said helplessly.

"In fact, it can be converted into a cruise ship, which will be the largest tonnage in the world, and at the same time the most rugged luxury cruise ship. I think the rich and the showy will love this cruise ship converted from America's most powerful warship. Sims made a little joke. The people in the room burst into laughter.

"Okay, okay, let's just liven up the atmosphere. We're talking about something very strict. President Wilson smiled and waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. The issue we are now discussing is to increase the combat effectiveness of the US Navy within the limits of the treaty, and there is no point in complaining anymore. ”

"Sims' idea is actually quite good. We can think differently" at this time. Majifen's sudden words shocked everyone, and even the initiator Sims was inexplicably surprised, he was just enlivening the atmosphere.

"Think about it. The aircraft carrier does not need the heavy artillery that the battleship is equipped with, because he does not rely on artillery to hit the opponent, so the heavy turret and various servos are omitted, and there is also no need for heavy armor, because the aircraft gives the aircraft carrier a long strike range. Moreover, aircraft carriers are fighting in formation, and artillery battles can be handed over to other warships, if a super cruise ship is built large enough. Moreover, if the design of the watertight cabin is planned according to the standards of the warship, and the cabin is reserved at the same time, can it be converted into an aircraft carrier in wartime? Although we do not know how to build a good aircraft carrier, I think. Wait until we figure it out. We could build a cruise ship and then quickly convert it into an aircraft carrier before or after the war. Majifen spoke of this idea, which would later be called a "reserve aircraft carrier".

"It depends on which shipping company is willing to throw a lot of money into watertight compartments, armor and TDS that have nothing to do with profit." Benson said with some embarrassment. "But it's a good idea, and if this plan goes ahead, we can strengthen our fleet by retrofitting some high-quality civilian ships in Guò." Benson wasn't very interested in this plan, but considering Magiffen's face, Benson could only say this ambiguous reply.

"It's a good way to compensate the ship owner for the cost of construction, and we can expand on this idea. For example, destroyers or anti-submarine ships used for escort ships can be transformed with civilian ships. Even when it was built, it was possible to use civilian standards. Anyway, they were just dealing with submarines, and not participating in a really fierce battle at sea, didn't the British build a lot of auxiliary cruisers in the 1 war? As a politician, President Wilson finally understood that it was better to leave military issues to professionals, and as the most experienced general in the US Navy, Majifen's idea undoubtedly has high reference value, and this is just an idea, and it has not yet been made into a formal draft, let alone asking Congress to allocate funds for implementation, and by the time the Navy comes up with a complete plan, I am afraid that he will have already stepped down, and let the next president decide whether to implement it or not. And wouldn't it be nice to sell yourself to Majifen for a favor? So President Wilson expressed verbal support for Magifin's idea.

Ma Jifen is not the first to think of this method, as a traverser Xu Jie has already considered the issue of the merchant ship aircraft carrier before the signing of the treaty, the history of the two wars of the United States, Britain and Japan have been equipped with merchant aircraft carriers, but the United States and Britain are the escort aircraft carriers converted from merchant ships, mainly performing anti-submarine and fire support missions. These aircraft carriers are almost all civilian hulls, and some can even be changed back to civilian ships after they are used up. The Japanese, on the other hand, are much more professional, and some of Japan's aircraft carriers, such as the Great Eagle and the Hayabusa, are converted from luxury cruise ships, and when the ships are built, they consider making aircraft carriers in the future. Some of the designs are completely implemented with reference to the standards of warships, and even the Japanese government has contributed as much as 60 percent in order to complete these warships, among which the most advanced modified aircraft carriers are almost the same level of combat effectiveness as Japan's medium-sized aircraft carriers, of course, the speed is a little slower. There are only 25 knots. However, the aircraft capacity and deck area are still okay. In terms of combat effectiveness, it is much stronger than those aircraft carriers of the United States and Britain that can only be used for escort. Of course, there is a problem that it cannot be restored to a merchant ship after it is built.

Although historically, the escort aircraft carriers of the US imperialism have successfully completed their mission, pulling the Nazi waves out of the sea one by one. In the Pacific Ocean, it also provides sufficient support firepower for the army, and the Japanese Navy's aircraft carriers are very sad because of the fleet's anti-submarine power, as well as the lack of aircraft, but for Xu Jie, in this plane, it is necessary to accumulate enough excellent aircraft carrier reserve ships in peacetime. Because this plane, whether it is the Entente or the Central Powers, its maritime power should not be underestimated. What's more, aircraft carriers are an extremely precious resource, and the number of aircraft carriers that can be used in naval warfare is really limited, not to mention Japan, the core of the aircraft carrier fleet of the United States in the later period is more than a dozen Essex. And Britain was really able to fight only 6 armored aircraft carriers in the later period.

"Actually, the navy can also do business. We can designate a subsidy program for excellent civilian ships, and in wartime, we can convert these well-designed ships into high-speed supply ships or even aircraft carriers that can accompany fleet operations, which will be a very important potential force. We must prepare now. The outbreak of the next war is inevitable, and in the Second World War, we cannot just be bystanders. At a naval meeting, Xu Jie gave the wind to the people below.

Soon after the end of this meeting, the Huaxia Shipping Bureau set up an excellent civil ship management organization, which not only provides a certain subsidy for excellent high-speed civilian ships, but also conducts a census and grade of all large and medium-sized civilian ships in the country, selects excellent ships for numbering and regular inspection, and then submits the relevant numbers to the military for evaluation, and in peacetime they can use as they want, and in wartime these excellent civilian ships will be recruited and transformed in accordance with certain procedures.

"When our experience in aircraft carrier construction is almost accumulated, we can consider building several large cruise ships of 35,000 tons at the appropriate time to run ocean routes, but remember, these ships can only employ reliable crews from their own countries, and foreigners can't, whether they are Central or Entente." Xu Jie said to Yang Yonglin in private.

"Why are you telling me this?" Yang Yonglin asked knowingly.

"If necessary, you will have the ship in your hands, and you don't care who cares? I'm going to get them to speed up to 29 knots or more, and you'll need to pay for it, otherwise who will build this kind of ship!" Xu Jie gave Yang Yonglin a blank look. Want someone to pay for you, every door! Finally, he added.

No one is much smarter than anyone else, and when the United States and China were carrying out the demonstration and preliminary preparations for the aircraft carrier reserve ship, the Germans were also thinking about the preparation of the future aircraft carrier reserve ship, but they not only hit the idea on the civilian ship, but also set their sights on the cruiser, a kind of warship equipped with medium-caliber artillery and at the same time with a certain engine capability appeared on the German drawing board. Although the two sides stipulate the specifications and tonnage of various warships, they do not say that cruisers cannot be equipped with aircraft, nor do they say how many planes can be installed, this is a gap! The Germans felt that their cruiser tonnage was a bit too much, the Mediterranean Sea was the Allied backyard, and the Indian Ocean and the Eastern Atlantic were limited. It doesn't feel like you need so many cruisers. But for the tonnage of aircraft carriers, the Germans felt that it was far from enough. After all, in the future, the German Navy will fight in the waters of the South Asian subcontinent, and the British can be supported by land-based aircraft, what will Germany do?

Although after preliminary demonstration, the German Navy felt that the reality may not be as rosy as imagined, but in line with the idea that a good ship can be put on an airplane, the Germans still continued the design idea of this aviation cruiser. After all, this is the tonnage of a worthless cruiser, and not the tonnage of a valuable aircraft carrier. Of course, this is all preparatory work, after all, no one has started to build a real aircraft carrier, and there is no experience in what the aircraft carrier needs and how to build it! Even the guiding ideology is being explored.

Thanks to the original sour plum soup of book friends, zhouyu1976, hukaikaka, and book friends 140831115058933 for their tips~~~, as well as book friends f663026 for their monthly pass support~~~. (To be continued......)