The Italian Admiralty Building is the central department of the Navy. Various orders of the Navy have always been issued from here, and Leifer and Gomes are of course very familiar with it.
So after receiving the summoning order from Admiral Argyle, the two of them rushed over from Taranto without stopping.
"It's been a while since I've been to the Admiralty."
Major General Gomes got out of the car and sighed as he looked at the majestic naval building in front of him.
"Don't be so sentimental. You've come to the Admiralty Department quite well."
Leifer, who was wearing the uniform of a lieutenant general, replied like this.
"Look, it's different when you wear a lieutenant general's uniform."
Although he had seen it many times, Major General Gomes still looked at his friend's lieutenant general uniform with envy.
Leifer was actually very aware of his friends' dynamics, but he was the first to be promoted to lieutenant general, which indeed had a considerable influence on his friends.
To be honest, it has been smooth sailing for the two of them over the years. They have successfully passed the school level and become generals, and have entered the middle and senior ranks of the Navy. However, in the promotions over the years, Leifer has often taken the lead. Basically, he was promoted.
Then it will be the turn of friends. To say that Gomes has no thoughts in his heart is simply unbelievable. It is normal for a soldier to be competitive.
Leifer actually knew something about his friend's mentality. In fact, both of them had similar talents, but who let his friend's talent show up in cruiser command? There is nothing wrong with cruisers, but in people's accustomed thinking, they always think that
Commanding battleships is more important, so generally promotions will be given to more important people first.
In order to reverse this image, Gomes had been transferred to command other warships before. However, during the exercise, compared with commanding the cruiser, which was as stunning as the sky and the sky, it was obviously much inferior. In the end, Gomes accepted his fate and commanded the cruiser well.
Just fine.
"As long as you impress the general during this interview, you will definitely get one more star on your epaulette."
Regarding his friend's words, Gomez smiled and said nothing more.
Then the two of them entered the building in a familiar manner and waited in front of Admiral Yagir's office.
That's right, just waiting.
There are not too many people who want to see the navy leader every day, and he needs to deal with the work at hand, so there is even less time to spare.
But despite this, the benches outside the office are still full of people waiting. Think about it, a group of soldiers sitting upright and wearing general uniforms, waiting quietly, is simply lifeless.
However, despite this, the two of them did not dare to stab each other. They still sat here politely like other people, waiting for the admiral's summons. There were one or two acquaintances on the bench, but apart from saying hello with their eyes,
, no one was ready to speak.
But they didn't wait long. After an hour of waiting, the two of them were called to the admiral's office by the secretary.
"Your Excellency, General."
Facing the two people who came in, Admiral Yagir wiped his face and cheered up. "I read your previous report on the battle patrol. This time I came to you just because I wanted to know more about it. Now you say
Let me explain why you think battle cruisers will be gradually replaced in the future.”
Faced with Admiral Yagir's question, Gomes immediately spoke. "This is the case, Admiral. For the new class of battlecruisers, the strategic position they occupy is mainly intended to deal with the other party's break-up of engagements and maintain the country's maritime capabilities."
The safety of transportation lines. In terms of tactics, the battle patrols serve as a formation to break through the enemy's interception line and conduct forcible reconnaissance of the enemy."
At this point, Gomes' tone changed. "These are the advantages of the battle cruiser, but there are also many disadvantages. First of all, the battle cruiser is very expensive. Compared with the battleship, with the same displacement, the price of the battle cruiser is
It will be higher than 2. In addition, when the battle cruiser was designed, it was intended to be an all-rounder. However, after various tactical drills and tests we conducted, we found that the battle cruiser was unqualified in many aspects.
For example, we tested it and found that if it was incorporated into the battle line to engage in gunfire with enemy ships, a very embarrassing problem would arise. Its high-speed design would be wasted by joining the battle line, and it would also be weak.
The armor means that the damage rate will increase sharply. We have conducted simulation tests and found that its damage rate in artillery battles is three times higher than that of a battleship."
Hearing this, Admiral Yagir looked unhappy. The battle cruiser built by the navy was directly said to be useless under the analysis of the two people in front of him.
"Anything else?"
The two of them were not blind, and of course they could see the admiral's unsightly expression. However, since they had already come, they would feel unhappy if the matter was not finished, so they had no choice but to continue.
"In addition, the number of battle cruisers also needs to be restrained. It is best to form a ratio of 3:10 with battleships. Because battle cruisers are expensive and require too much cost, it is not conducive to the development of the navy."
"Then the battle cruiser is cancelled. Which battleship should its mission be assigned to?"
At this time, the admiral asked a key question. Since the battle patrol will disappear in the future, which unit will be replaced?
The two of them knew that it was not easy to answer the admiral's words, because although the question was about the future, it sounded like they could say it casually, but it was not easy to say it with reason and evidence. Fortunately, they came prepared.
"I think the role of the battle cruiser will be replaced by other ship types in the future. Among them, breaking through enemy interception and forcible reconnaissance will be easier from the air. First of all, its speed advantage is something that various warships cannot have. Of course, at present,
, aircraft also have limitations in their use, so if they must be built, then we should choose high-speed battleships.
In addition, in terms of breaking engagements, I think that the current use of battle cruisers is not worth the gain. It is expensive to build and maintain, and it is somewhat outdated to send it to break engagements. The speed and endurance of breaking engagement battleships should be investigated, and the firepower and protection can be adjusted appropriately.
, after all, it is dealing with merchant ships. And the cost cannot be too high, otherwise it will not be able to afford the losses."
The person who said this was Leifer, who was silent at first, and what he meant was the conclusion he reached after long discussions with Gomes.
Argil fell into deep thought about what these two people said. Fast battleships are easy to understand, that is, battleships with battlecruiser speeds. Although it is not easy to achieve, with the development of technology, everything will be possible in the future.
In fact, within the Navy, the controversy over the role of the battle cruiser has not been settled yet. The most controversial thing is that the battle cruiser is currently the most expensive battleship. Although it can perform many tasks, it is not outstanding enough.
As for its most important counterattack, Italy is not very easy to use due to its location, so it is normal to have internal disagreements.
Moreover, a battle cruiser is so expensive, how luxurious it would be to use it as a battleship to break up engagements.
For the two people in front of him, Yagil flashed a look of admiration and said, "I have learned your thoughts from your speeches, and I have other things to do next."
Who could not understand such an obvious eviction order, so the two of them went out in a polite manner. Since the admiral did not give a reply, how could they accomplish such things as building and canceling battle patrols in just a few words?
After the two of them went out, Yagir pulled out a design drawing of a battleship from his desk. This was a drawing of a battle cruiser. Its thick caliber indicated a 380mm main gun.
Yes, this is a battle cruiser designed based on the 380mm main gun that is still under development. Of course, this battle cruiser is still in the draft stage, but it does not prevent the admiral from using it for appreciation.
But now the admiral looked at him silently, then opened a drawer in the lower right corner and put it in. Judging from the dust marks on other items in this drawer, it was difficult for him to use this drawer.
