The Rise of the Empire

"In other words, if we don't consolidate the port, is it better for us to prepare a large number of camouflaged assault ships than to use regular warships? Wouldn't it be better if we used high-speed cruise ships or other large high-speed ships to carry out the breach?" William Second asked.

"Your Majesty, you are asking a knight in heavy armor to perform a show of flying over the wall." The prince thought for a while, and said with a word that he thought was very euphemistic. The performance of a large cruise ship is really good, but the problem is that this thing is just like a light cruiser, it is too eye-catching. Although it is not a battleship, it does not have the concealment of a camouflaged attack ship, and this thing has a fatal problem, that is, it wastes too much fuel up. The speed is very fast, but after a long time of sailing, you can't be faster than a regular light cruiser.

For an assault ship, sailing at sea for a month is not a long time, and dozens of days or even hundreds of days are nothing more than routine, so endurance is more important than speed at this time. Anyway, after the light cruiser was discovered, I couldn't run away... But in terms of endurance, take the assault ship Wolf as an example. If this cargo sails at an economical speed of 8 knots per hour, it will only consume 35 tons of coal for a day of sailing. However, the maximum coal loading of this cargo can reach 6,000 tons. The range of the ship can reach 23,000 nautical miles! This battery life can be described as terrifying!

In fact, the voyage of this ship is really amazing. The cargo set off from the port of Kiel, after crossing the North Sea, and then went all the way south until it was near Cape Town, then went to Madagascar, and finally passed around India, even Mines were also laid in the port of Mumbai!

"However, I personally feel that a camouflaged assault ship is not as good as a submarine in breaking diplomatic relations. After all, a submarine can freely enter and leave the North Sea. It may be more difficult to camouflage an assault ship, and more personnel are needed." Admiral Ball thought for a while and said.

"What you said has some truth, but it's still a little one-sided." His Royal Highness thought for a while and said. "Compared to submarines, camouflaged assault ships still have many advantages, especially they can do many things that submarines cannot."

"First of all, the mine-laying capability of a camouflaged assault ship is much higher than that of a submarine. A merchant ship of more than 5,000 tons can hold more than 400 mines. But how much can a submarine carry? Secondly, a camouflaged assault ship can also provide submarines with Supplies, such as fuel and food. Cooperate with submarine operations. Third, the camouflage attack ship can also serve as the eyes and ears of the submarine. The hidden identity and the high-power radio on board can indicate the target for the submarine. Of course, the biggest and most important benefit Yes, these camouflaged assault ships sailing at sea can contain a large number of British troops! Reduce the pressure on submarines." The prince said.

Because the voyage and continuous combat capability of the camouflaged assault ships are too strong, no one will let these camouflaged assault ships go on a rampage at sea. Whether they can be caught is a matter of ability, but whether or not they can be caught is a matter of attitude. It is obviously very energy-consuming to search for an assault ship that is no different from a merchant ship all over the world, and the decision to perform these tasks cannot be a destroyer, nor can it be an auxiliary cruiser with relatively poor firepower. Otherwise, if we run into each other, it is not certain who will hit who!

For example, the Wolf has seven 150mm cannons. This level of cannon is already at the same level as that of a light cruiser. Ordinary auxiliary cruisers and destroyers can't do it when they meet each other! Therefore, it is very possible that an attack ship involves a dozen or even dozens of ships scattered in the ocean, and if there is no United States, it is purely due to the British wanting to take into account both the suppression of the German navy and the sea transportation line. The protection of the United States is really a bit difficult. In fact, before the United States entered the war, Britain's maritime transportation was indeed doomed to death by submarines.

According to the prince's plan, the German Navy will prepare two types of camouflaged assault ships before the war. The first type of camouflaged assault ships is a simple civilian ship. The quasi-camouflage assault ship that has already been strengthened, first of all, the speed of this ship will be relatively fast, and the protection will be better. At least the power cabin and ammunition depot must be protected to a certain extent, and positions for artillery, mines or torpedoes must be reserved so that Can be retrofitted quickly. It is also necessary to install various equipment such as cranes, diesel tanks, etc. that can provide assistance to other ships.

In wartime, this relatively high-configuration assault ship is a very versatile camouflaged assault ship after adding weapons, fuel, and various auxiliary equipment. It can be used to break diplomatic relations alone at sea, provide supplies for submarines or indicate targets, and even cooperate with submarines in operations, such as attacking auxiliary cruisers or destroyers escorting transport fleets, clearing the way for submarines to hunt and kill. It is also possible to lay mines in some ports, or to pretend to be a neutral merchant ship and go to the opponent's unprotected civilian port to make a fuss.

"Before the war, I hope that the number of our high-configuration reserve assault ships will reach about 30, and before the war breaks out, we can send out 5 to 6 assault ships." The prince finally concluded.

"We can even install some old-style artillery directly on a camouflaged ship and drive it out to sea when there is a threat of war, and then contact those ships that are performing civilian voyages by radio, and directly equip these ships with weapons at sea, distribute Personnel, in this way, our broken delivery ship can appear on the British sea transportation line in the first time!" His Royal Highness added.

This also has a historical prototype. For example, the super cruise ship Crown Prince William in World War 1 received 2 88MM guns, 290 shells and some light weapons from the light cruiser Karlsruhe and changed it into an assault ship. What is even more unexpected is that this temporarily improved camouflaged assault ship was also revived and searched for the 8529-ton ship Corentina near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and found two 120MM artillery on the rear of the ship. Unfortunately there was no ammunition, and then the Germans put the two guns without ammunition on board their ships.

In the end, the ship traveled across the ocean for 251 days, intercepted 15 ships, sank 14 ships, and ran to the United States with a total record of 58,201 tons. And then was detained. It can be seen from this example that it is no problem for these cruise ships to install 120MM artillery at sea. And it can indeed achieve a lot of results, as long as the luck is not particularly unlucky, at least it can pay back!

"Your idea is very good. Follow your plan. In addition, I have some things here. You can go back and have a look." The meeting went smoothly. At the end of the meeting, William II personally gave the prince a copy Something surprised the prince.

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