Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

The U.S. Navy, which can only sit in the port as a fleet, is extremely frustrated.

However, strictly speaking, they are not even worthy of an existence fleet. According to Mahan in his book "Sea Power", the fleet is divided into two types: fortress fleet and existence fleet. It later evolved to refer to a naval force trying to control the waters it affects without ever leaving its main port. Once it leaves port, the fleet may be defeated or annihilated without being able to influence the enemy's decision-making, but if it remains in the harbor, the enemy has to deploy military forces to defend against it. The tactic of having a fleet is a means of denying sea power (blocking the enemy's ability to control a specific sea area), but it does not actually achieve the situation of sea area control.

Today's German navy has completely ignored the US fleet. It is approaching the doorstep of the United States and is arrogant and domineering, but the US navy can only swallow its anger.

Therefore, the top brass of the navy can be regarded as being ill and seeking medical treatment indiscriminately, even studying such imaginative things as "pigeon guidance".

A group of senior military officials came to a secret testing site, including those from the navy and the army. After all, although this research was initiated by the U.S. Navy, once successful, the Army Aviation Force can also use it.

Looking at the giant ship model built in the middle of the test site in the distance, many people whispered.

"Pigeon guidance? Why does it sound unreliable?"

"Yeah, it feels even less reliable than the previous 'ice aircraft carrier'."

"Those little things won't drive bombs towards us, right?" I heard that this gliding bomb weighs 1,000 pounds. If such a heavy bomb is given to a few pigeons to "drive", who knows what those things will do? Where to throw the bomb? ! Although they had repeatedly confirmed with the experimental site staff before coming that this observation room could withstand a direct hit from a 2,000-pound bomb, they were still beating in their hearts.

After a while, all the staff in the test site had evacuated. A B-24 bomber flew from a distance. When it flew more than 50 kilometers away from the test site, it dropped a glide bomb hung under the belly of the aircraft. Watching the gliding bomb flying towards the test site, Dr. Skinner in the observation room introduced it enthusiastically. "As long as the gliding bomb flies 1,000 meters away from the target, it has a high probability of hitting the target under the command of the pigeon."

Commander Arnold asked. "General Leahy, how far does a glide bomb travel?"

"About 56 kilometers."

"About 56 kilometers. I remember that the defense radius of the German aircraft carrier aircraft is about 150 kilometers (this is the defense radius when the carrier radar detects the enemy. When the reconnaissance aircraft detects the enemy, the defense radius can be increased to three to four hundred kilometers). In other words, our bombers must move forward 100 kilometers at the risk of huge losses to launch such gliding bombs." And this is when the hit rate is guaranteed.

General Leahy smiled bitterly. "Yes, you do have to risk a lot of losses, unless you have a better way." Is there any better way? The previous ricochet attack tactic invented by the Army Aviation required at least 10 kilometers away from the German fleet to launch an attack. As a result, it has not been successful so far.

Marshall on the side sighed softly. "How is the Navy's torpedo research and development going?" He vaguely felt that such "pigeon guidance" and "ice aircraft carrier" were the same thing, and he was more willing to place his hopes on traditional weapons.

The United States' military expenditures plummeted due to the civil war after World War I. From 1923 to 1940, almost all torpedoes came from the Naval Torpedo Station in Newport, and other manufacturers either closed down or changed careers. As the saying goes, there is no power without pressure. The number of Newport torpedo stations is also very few. Before 1936, the output in any year did not exceed 381, and from 1936 to 1940, the annual output only increased by 200~300. .

The annual sample test mission of the torpedo station requires hitting stationary targets in the water. Few people care about the performance of torpedoes. The technical flaws of torpedoes make them basically useless in actual combat. The MK14 torpedo, which was put into actual combat in the early days of World War II, had a dud rate as high as 70%. It once set a record that 15 torpedoes could not sink an oil tanker. It was once nicknamed the king of duds. In this regard, the U.S. Navy dumbfounded: "The most reliable performance of this thing is its unreliability!" Unexploded torpedoes not only easily expose the location of the submarine, but also often miss the enemy in battle, allowing enemy ships to escape.

Although the U.S. Navy at this time basically had no chance to compete with the German Navy for torpedoes, they also found from daily training that the MK14 torpedo was very unreliable.

Under strict orders from the top brass of the Navy, the research department designed the new MK18 electric torpedo.

In the original time and space, this torpedo was an imitation of a German torpedo. In 1941, the Allied forces captured the German submarine U570, and the U.S. Navy also obtained a German G7E electric torpedo. Westinghouse Electric Company quickly started imitation work.

Because the MK18 torpedo is electric, there are no bubbles or turbine exhaust trails, and it does not have many of the shortcomings of the MK 14, such as explosions and other dangers. The disadvantage is that the speed is low, the torpedo needs to be regularly pulled out of the fish tube for charging, and maintenance is relatively cumbersome. , according to incomplete statistics, 30% of the torpedoes launched from US submarines in 1944 were Mk 18 torpedoes, and by 1945, they accounted for 65%. It can be said that it was the most successful torpedo in the United States at the end of World War II, and it was also a successful imitation of the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Another MK 23 torpedo is based on the MK 14 torpedo. It just removes the 30-knot slow speed gear and leaves only the 46-knot high speed gear. Therefore, the torpedo’s range is only 4100 meters. . (If the slow speed of 30 knots is retained, the torpedo can reach a maximum distance of 8,200 meters). The other internal structure and external shape are exactly the same as the MK14 torpedo.

The reason why the slow gear is turned off is because of the requirement for hit rate in actual combat. Because the MK14 torpedo is a steam torpedo, when the torpedo sails underwater, the engine will continuously discharge the steam exhaust gas into the sea from the exhaust port on the back of the torpedo. These bubbles drag out a long and obvious white line on the sea surface. wake. On a clear day, the lookout on the target ship will see it with the naked eye from a distance, turn the ship's bow in time, change the ship's speed and course, and make the torpedo miss the target! Therefore, instead of hitting at a slow speed when you are far away, it is better to get closer and hit at the highest speed. In this way, the enemy ship will often find it and have no time to dodge.

In other words, there are only two torpedoes that can still be used by the U.S. Navy today, the MK18 electric torpedo and the MK 23 high-speed torpedo.

Marshall frowned slightly. "Can we develop a torpedo with a range of more than 20,000 meters?" According to current intelligence analysis, the German torpedo range exceeds 20,000 meters, even reaching an astonishing 30,000 meters; while their torpedo range cannot even break through 15,000 meters. How to fight this?