The Rise of the Empire

Chapter 434: ready to go



"How is the fleet preparation?" Admiral Boll personally came to the Kiel naval port to check the preparations of the Schel fleet. At this time, at the three berths 4, 5, and 6, there were one large, two small and three ships. Lined up, a large amount of materials and supplies were sent to the ship’s deck by crane, and then they were manually put on the place.

"The Prince Albert is ready to complete. Just send the remaining 150 tons of shells and the remaining 150 tons. The Swordfish camouflage assault ship is also ready, and now it’s almost time to install the mines. The Seawolf assault ship is still bad. Some personnel may not be available until three days later, so we decided to dispatch the Sultan Suleyman and the Swordfish first.” Scheer replied.

You read that right, although the Germans cannot fall out with Italy on the bright side, they are still doing their best to help their allies! What they prepared for the Turks was not only an armored cruiser Prince Albert, but also two attack ships. The Germans have decided to use this opportunity to teach the Italians an unforgettable lesson!

Although the Prince Albert is the mainstay against the Italian Navy, it is obviously not enough to rely on this warship alone. Apart from anything else, ammunition, various accessories and tools must be prepared. The Swordfish accompanying this 10,000-ton cruiser is the warehouse where the Prince moves! This merchant ship with a displacement of up to 8,000 tons has a maximum speed of 17 knots. In addition to carrying shells and various materials needed by the prince, it is also an assault ship.

It is equipped with 8 150mm artillery pieces removed from retired German warships, and 6 88mm anti-lightning guns. There are also 4 torpedo tubes. Moreover, the artillery layout of this battleship is very avant-garde. Two single-mounted 150mm artillery positions are arranged in the bow, middle and rear of the hull, and the other two artillery are arranged on both sides of the hull, which means that the side chords of this battleship can be concentrated. The firepower of 7 150mm guns. Although this firepower could not fight the Italian second-class cruisers, it was sufficient against third-class cruisers and various trash fish.

Of course, the most valuable thing is that this improved assault ship also has a certain degree of armor protection. The Germans installed a layer of armor with a thickness of 3 inches to 2 inches in some areas of the ammunition depot and power compartment. Even on the outside of the hull, there is a thick hull plate for auxiliary defense. At the same time, it also blocked part of the airtight cabin of the hull to increase the resistance to sinking. As for the original inflammable and explosive materials on this ship, naturally, they have been removed.

In addition to the robbery, the Yin Ren is also his job. This raid ship is also equipped with 820 mines and three mine lanes. Prepare to take time to go to the major ports in Italy for a walk! In order to make it more difficult for the Italians to clear mines, this batch of mines includes anchor mines, floating mines and other models. The production date has spanned from about 20 years, and almost all the old mines in Germany's existing stock are cleared.

As for the Sea Wolf, which has not been prepared yet, it is a pure-bred assault ship, which is different from the Swordfish, which bears a semi-guard nature and must fight alongside Prince Albert when necessary. Sea Wolf No. Everything is to break the relationship, a moderately reliable weapon, plus enough cruising power, of course, there is one thing that is absolutely not conspicuous.

This is a ship with a displacement of no more than 5,500 tons, and the ship type is also a model mass-produced by a German shipyard. According to the prince’s estimate, the Brom-Forth Shipyard alone produced about 23 merchant ships of the same model, and many of these ships were sold abroad. It’s not for no reason why this ship is selling well. One of the most important points is that it is very fuel-efficient. Such a ship consumes only 2 tons of coal per hour when sailing at a cruising speed of 10 knots, and the boiler is not picky about coal burning. In time lignite can also make do with burning!

And this ship has a coal loading capacity of 4,000 tons. That is to say, if sailing at an economic speed, the ship theoretically has a range of 20,000 nautical miles, and more importantly, some of the sail rigging reserved for this ship In time, there is no coal, and you can still sail on the power of sails. The huge load allows this ship to be equipped with a large amount of supplies and fuel. In theory, this ship will be enough to use the supplies and seized materials it carries before the end of the war!

Because the main target of this ship is an unprotected merchant ship, and the combat area is also in the Atlantic Ocean outside Gibraltar, Italian warships generally do not drive the ship there, so there is no need to consider confronting warships. Therefore, there is basically no defense, and the weapons are relatively small. There are only 4 old 150mm guns, 6 88mm and 50mm guns, and three torpedo tubes. This is a perfect assault ship, unassuming, long enough range, and firepower enough to deal with most targets.

This assault ship will only operate in the Atlantic west of Gibraltar, targeting Italian civilian ships. At the same time, there will be several German camouflage reconnaissance ships in charge of investigations. All seized materials can also be handed over to Turkey. Of course, these materials are large. Part of it will be shipped to Germany as funds and collateral for Bavaria to support Turkey's operations in Africa.

These warships need about 2,000 officers and soldiers to control them. Naturally, it is impossible for all of them to be sold by Germany. After all, this is a warship "purchased" by Turkey ~www.novelhall.com~ and 2,000 experienced soldiers are drawn from the German Navy Navy officers and soldiers are also a nuisance, after all, the German Navy is now preparing for major construction! At least 6 Dreadnoughts! Tens of thousands of officers and soldiers are needed on the battleship alone! There are also port personnel and auxiliary personnel. Human resources are not enough. How can it be possible to give Turkey 2,000 people at once?

Therefore, only 1,000 of these naval officers and soldiers are German naval officers and soldiers, and the honorary commander, firearm, and clerical personnel are all Turks, and these 1,000 are also a problem for Turkey! There are few people in the Turkish Navy! It's difficult to get it together!

"The preparations are very good. Three days later, you will take the Prince Albert and two other cruisers to cruise." Admiral Ball seemed very satisfied with Scheer's work. After checking the combat readiness of the battleship , The admiral ordered in the captain's room.

"We will sail in three days? Don't we plan to go to the Mediterranean? If we follow the original time, we will hardly have time to come back to receive supplies!" Scheer was taken aback. "Also, your Excellency, so far, we haven't figured out a way to break through the Italian blockade in the Mediterranean. I think at this juncture, the fleet's purposeless sailing is simply a waste!"

"Who said it was aimless?" Admiral Ball chuckles, don't worry, the Admiralty has everything in place. You have at least 70% chance of breaking through the Italian blockade and sending you in. It's our business, how to call you guys. "

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