After the attack on the Italian navy, the Allied forces in North Africa fell into endless wrangling.
First is responsibility.
According to the prior plan, the Bonifacio Strait between Corsica and Sardinia was used as the boundary. To the north of the strait, the Southern African Air Force was responsible for protecting the Italian Navy, and to the south of the strait, the British and American Air Forces were responsible.
The coordination between the Southern African Air Force and the British and American Air Forces was not good enough. The Germans seized the gap between the Southern African Air Force and the British and American Air Forces and took advantage of the fleeting opportunity to launch an air attack on the Italian Navy, causing the "Roma" to sink.
As a result of the serious damage to the "Italia", Admiral Borgmini was also killed in the air strike and sank to the bottom of the sea with the "Roma".
The Italian Navy was attacked south of the Bonifacio Strait, and Patton believed that the British and American sides should be responsible.
Eisenhower and Alexander agreed that the Southern African air force should not evacuate early before the arrival of the British and American air forces, so the responsibility lay entirely with the southern African side.
The reason why we are entangled in this issue is seriously related to the subsequent compensation issue.
If the three "Venetos" of the Italian Navy are all safe and sound, then according to the previous distribution plan, southern Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States will all have a chance to get at least one "Veneto".
Now that one of the three "Venetos" has sunk and another has been seriously injured, how to distribute them has become the focus of controversy.
Patton's attention was no longer on the battleship.
In the Luftwaffe's air attack on the Italian Navy, the Germans used a total of six bombs, four of which accurately hit the target. Except for one that did not explode, the three bombs caused the sinking of two fully loaded battleships with a displacement of 46,000 tons.
One injury's record is truly astonishing.
The Germans did not show mercy, but gave up the follow-up attack because the British fighter jets arrived in a hurry. Otherwise, the Italian navy would have suffered even more heavy losses.
Compared with the expensive battleships, which have become increasingly marginalized in naval battles and whose status has been declining, this bomb that did not explode seems to be of greater value.
As soon as Patton learned of the relevant situation, he ordered Malta to prepare. After the Italian fleet arrived in Malta, he immediately controlled the unexploded bomb and sent it back to southern Africa as quickly as possible.
Provide analysis and research to relevant departments.
By the time Eisenhower and Alexander learned of the situation, the unexploded bomb had successfully arrived in southern Africa.
This made Eisenhower and Alexander very angry.
"Yes, there was indeed a bomb that did not explode, but it was just an ordinary bomb. After the Italian fleet arrived in Malta, the bomb was destroyed by engineers." Patton denied it, not giving Eisenhower and Alexander any chance.
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Eisenhower and Alexander both sneered, neither of them believed it.
Six out of four hits at an altitude of 6,000 meters. Is this an ordinary bomb?
A dive bomber dropping bombs at an altitude of 1,000 meters would not have such a high hit rate.
Bomber pilots in World War II dropped bombs in a circle with a diameter of 100 meters, and if one of four bombs hit, they would be considered qualified.
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military bombed Thanh Hoa Bridge, dispatching 11,500 sorties for seven years. 105 pilots died, but the bridge did not collapse.
Thanh Hoa Bridge is 500 meters long and 11 meters wide.
"Veneto" is 237 meters long and 33 meters wide.
No matter how you look at it, this result is outrageous.
"Last year when the Allied forces were fighting in East Asia, the Southern African army used a long-range, high-precision super rocket launcher. You seem to call it a 'missile'. As an ally, shouldn't Southern Africa share the relevant technology of 'missiles' with us?"
?" Eisenhower said confidently.
"Oh, in 1941, the NDRC (U.S. National Defense Research Council) launched a guided bomb project. The project code was 'AC-1', which is now 'AC-36'. As an ally, why does the United States not disclose the information about 'AC-36'?
Where's the technology?" Barton sneered.
Alexander was extremely surprised. He looked at Patton, then at Eisenhower, and suddenly realized that the clown was actually him.
Southern Africa’s super rocket launchers were already used on the battlefield last year.
The Germans now have a "super bomb" with six shots and four hits at an altitude of 6,000 meters.
Americans have "AC-36".
Only the British Empire has nothing!
Southern Africa just keeps the good stuff hidden.
The Americans obviously had it themselves, but Eisenhower dragged Alexander along to find Patton.
This is not something humans do!
Eisenhower's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. Southern Africa actually knew everything about the so-called top-secret "AC-36" program. This fully proved the extent to which Southern Africa had penetrated the United States.
"In any case, you can't do this. You should take out the German precision-guided bombs and let's study them together." Eisenhower was anxious. Both southern Africa and Germany have used precision-guided bombs in actual combat. The United States is far away.
Far behind.
As mentioned earlier, American technology was a joke before World War II, and it always relied on quantity to win.
The United States does have a precision-guided missile program, but the progress is hard to say.
If the progress had been good, Americans would have taken it out long ago and told the world that they cannot keep leftover steamed buns in their doghouses.
"I said, there are no precision-guided bombs." Patton said with a cold expression.
In fact, it's not that it can't be taken out. The German bomb has been completely dismantled by engineers in southern Africa. The technology is not out of reach, that's all.
The German bomb is called the "Fritz-X" bomb. This bomb weighs 1,570 kilograms, has a length of 3.2 meters, a maximum diameter of 562 millimeters, and a cross-shaped wing with a wingspan of 1.6 meters.
The tail combination control wing of the bomb adopts a ring structure, with 4 radio-controlled rudder surfaces, and 5 luminous tubes at the back. Through the luminous tubes, the pilot can judge the position of the "Fritz-X" wireless guided bomb and target it.
Its heading is adjusted.
Overall, the guidance method of "Fritz-X" is still at a relatively rudimentary level, and there is still a gap between it and the precision guidance in southern Africa.
The guided missiles in southern Africa, what Eisenhower called "super rocket launchers," are controlled using radios combined with cameras, and edited programs are used to control the airfoils. The weight of the missile has reached 2.5 tons, and the flight distance exceeds 1,000 kilometers.
The biggest weakness of the "Fritz-X" is that the bomber cannot escape quickly after the bomb is launched. It must maintain the visual range of the "Fritz-X" so that the pilot can control the bomb in time.
The guided missiles in Southern Africa can be launched from the air or from the ground. Technicians control the missiles through images fed back by cameras. Both in terms of power and accuracy, they are higher than the German "Fritz-X".
The reason why Southern Africa does not use guided missiles on a large scale is because it does not want to expose missile technology prematurely.
On the other hand, there are no targets worthy of using guided missiles in southern Africa, in the Mediterranean, or even in Europe.
The current ships of Germany and Italy cannot even leave the port. Even if Southern Africa wants to use them, there is no chance to use missiles.
"Marshal Patton, if you are willing to share German technology, the debate about the 'Veneto' class battleships can be ended immediately." Eisenhower took the initiative to make an offer.
This is said very skillfully.
The technology belongs to the Germans, and even if it is shared, there will be no loss for Southern Africa.
What Eisenhower meant was that as long as Patton was willing to take out the bomb and give the United Kingdom and the United States a chance to study it, then the United Kingdom and the United States would be willing to send all the remaining two "Veneto" class battleships to southern Africa.
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This sincerity is very high.
Although the "Italia" was seriously damaged, the "Vittoria Veneto" was intact, and the "Italia" could be repaired, which was not difficult with the technology of southern Africa.
"Haha, Dwight, a powerful battleship worth tens of millions can be sent to the bottom of the sea with only two bombs. In order to control a battleship, there are nearly 2,000 crew members and tens of millions of dollars are spent every year. In addition to symbolic
Meaning, do battleships still have any role now?" Patton laughed. The British and Americans had insisted on the "big ships and cannons" doctrine for so long and finally came to an end.
During the London Naval Conference, the Southern African navy completely gave up on battleships and tried its best to gain aircraft carrier tonnage, which once caused ridicule from participants from other countries.
In the view of other navies, the Southern African Navy has chosen a wrong path and placed all its bets on aircraft carriers. In the end, it will be neither fish nor fowl due to the lack of capital ships.
Yes, even during the London Naval Conference, countries’ standards for capital ships still believed that only battleships were capital ships and aircraft carriers were auxiliary ships.
The London Naval Conference was only ten years old.
"Of course, battleships are a symbol of the naval strength of a powerful country. Only battleships can demonstrate the strength of a country, which cannot be replaced by any other naval ship." Alexander said harshly.
"This is why you can only be the commander of the army and not qualified to be the commander of the navy!" Patton slapped him in the face.
The UK has always been dominated by the navy, and the army is simply dispensable.
The famous generals in British history, such as Wilson, Nelson, and Harvey, were all born in the navy, and only a few were born in the army. As Prime Minister, Winston mentioned in his memoirs that he was a "former naval officer", which fully proves the role of the navy in Britain.
status.
Alexander was born into an Irish nobleman, graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and had always served in the army.
"Marshal Patton, you are also from the army." Eisenhower took the initiative to relieve Alexander.
"So what, at least I wasn't rejected by the Naval Academy." Patton went all out, even Eisenhower wasn't spared.
Eisenhower applied for the U.S. Naval Academy in his early years, but was not admitted because he was overage, and later went to West Point.
If you want to say that your grades are not up to standard, forget it.
I was able to register and took the exam, but was rejected because I was overage.
This reason is too perfunctory, and there are two words between the lines: disgust!
Patton was a gilded official graduate of the Naval Academy at Portsmouth, the type recognized by the British Navy.
"Stop talking nonsense, Britain and the United States are also involved in the war against the Germans, and we are qualified to obtain German technology." Alexander couldn't bear it, it was too much.
"Okay, if you insist." Barton finally relented.
Eisenhower and Alexander finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But I immediately realized that things were not that simple.
Sure enough, two days later, Eisenhower and Alexander finally saw a bomb in Patton's office.
On the surface, there was nothing wrong with the bomb. The writing on the bomb clearly showed that it was a bomb produced in Germany.
Eisenhower waved his hand, and the engineers who followed Eisenhower and Alexander to Patton's office swarmed over.
After a while, the engineering staff reluctantly said that this was indeed an ordinary bomb with nothing special about it.
"Marshal, what we want are precision-guided bombs, not damn iron lumps with no technical content!" Eisenhower was very angry. This was definitely a matter of attitude, and he was unabashedly deceiving people.
"I've told you, it's just an ordinary bomb, what else do you want?" Patton's voice was not soft at all.
"Oh, the Germans relied on this kind of bomb to sink the Roma. When did the German technology get so good?" Alexander sneered at Patton.
"You can ask the Russians whether the skills of German pilots are good or not." Patton did not underestimate the Germans. The best German pilots had shot down more than 150 Allied fighter planes.
"How about this, I can share the technology related to the AC-36, but you in southern Africa also need to share the technology related to guided bombs." Eisenhower was whimsical. Compared with the German "Fritz-X",
Related technologies in southern Africa interested Eisenhower even more.
"Haha" Barton laughed dumbly, innocently!
While Eisenhower and Alexander were eyeing precision-guided bombs, the USS Bunker Hill aircraft carrier from the United States arrived at Changi Naval Base.
The USS Bunker Hill is the ninth Essex-class aircraft carrier in the United States, numbered CV-17.
In June 1940, with the strong support of Roosevelt, the U.S. Congress passed the "Fleet Expansion Act" and the "Two Ocean Navy Act", planning to build 11 Essex-class aircraft carriers in fiscal year 1940 and two Essex-class aircraft carriers in fiscal year 1941.
On April 28, 1941, the construction of the first ship "Essex" of the Essex class aircraft carrier began.
The "Essex" has a full load displacement of 33,000 tons, a maximum speed of 33 knots, and can carry up to 103 aircraft. Its comprehensive combat capabilities are similar to those of the "City" class aircraft carriers in southern Africa.
The industrial capabilities of the Americans are still very terrifying. "Bunk Hill" is the sixth aircraft carrier attached to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. After "Bunker Hill" joined the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the number of aircraft carriers owned by the U.S. Pacific Fleet has exceeded Changi
Squadron.
The Changi Squadron and the Indian Ocean Fleet combined have only six aircraft carriers.
Of course, the combat capability of an aircraft carrier is not determined by its quantity, but by the performance of its carrier-based aircraft.
The "Goshawk" series of fighter jets equipped by the Southern African Navy are still superior to the F6F Hellcat equipped by the U.S. Navy.
"Bunker Hill" brings not only the F6F, but also the pure azimuth precision guided bombs just released by the United States.
