Read Online Kirov Saga: Altered States (Kirov Series) by John Schettler - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John Schettler
Ads: Link
kept at off shore anchorages, making supply, maintenance, and repair work very difficult and slow. Nor could they dock safely at most foreign ports likely to come under our control.”
“And yet they would outclass everything in the Royal Navy by a wide measure,” said Hitler waving his hand. “They would not dare to challenge such a ship, with even two of their existing battleships, eh?”
“That may be said this very moment of Bismarck and Tirpitz ,” said Raeder, convinced of the power of his latest additions to the fleet. “And it will be even more applicable to Schlachtschiff H. Their keels have been constructed from transverse, longitudinal steel frames, and she will have twenty one interior watertight compartments.” He ran his finger along the hull schematic as he spoke. “The design will be immune to torpedo attacks, if a destroyer ever dared to try as much, and this hull design will make Hindenburg virtually unsinkable.”
Hitler loved the technical details of steel weight, tensile strength, yet all he heard was the name. “ Hindenburg ?” he said. “Not Hitler?” He smiled.
“We thought to name this class after the Helgoland series from the last war. One of the ships in that class was the Oldenburg , but as this was to be our H series design, we thought Hindenburg might be appropriate, followed by Brandenburg , Oldenburg , and so forth.”
Hitler thought for a moment. He had reservations about allowing a ship to have a name too closely associated with the Reich. What if it should be sunk? For the moment however, he was focused on the guns. “Yes, yes, leave it at that. But the guns. Can they be bigger? I want guns that will break the back of a British battleship in one blow.”
“We have designs for seventeen and nineteen inch guns as well, but the key concept here, my Fuhrer is to mount a gun best fitting the size of the ship. It’s a consideration of weight versus speed. What we want to achieve here is both speed and power. She will have a top speed of 30 knots. Anything that can catch us will surely be outclassed, given the protection we are building into this ship—strong horizontal protection with face hardened Krupp steel belt armor to 320 millimeters, 350 on the command tower, and 385 on the main guns. She will also get better deck armor, 200 millimeters thick, and we’ve added this new feature, six submerged torpedo tubes. They may be useful against convoys as well.”
“Do not speak to me of armor. I assume as much. It is the guns that interest me. These ships should have guns in the range of twenty inches.”
Raeder had anticipated this from the Fuehrer, but was unwilling to become bogged down now in a argument over gun size. “My Fuehrer, I have appointed Admiral Fuchs to make a detailed study of this very issue, and he will meet with you to report on his findings in short order.” Raeder had press ganged Fuchs into the battle, wanting him to try and convince Hitler that 16 inch guns would be more than adequate.
“Very well,” said Hitler flipping the page. “And these?”
Raeder had detailed out six ships, designs H through M, each with modified armament, armor, engine plants, and other minor details. “Let us consider all these as elements of the H class we are proposing,” he explained. “Six ships in all. These will form the heart of our main battle fleet. The fast Panzerschiff cruisers I mentioned earlier will be excellent as escorts on the initial breakout, and fine commerce raiders in their own rite. We envision a concept of one or two powerful ships operating in conjunction with the Panzerschiff and squadrons of U-boats. The entire task force will be refueled from tankers at sea and remain capable of extended operations in the Atlantic—up to two months if necessary.”
“It will most certainly be necessary,” said Hitler. “And the British know as much. They will guard their convoys with battleships, and they will outnumber us in that category and every
“And yet they would outclass everything in the Royal Navy by a wide measure,” said Hitler waving his hand. “They would not dare to challenge such a ship, with even two of their existing battleships, eh?”
“That may be said this very moment of Bismarck and Tirpitz ,” said Raeder, convinced of the power of his latest additions to the fleet. “And it will be even more applicable to Schlachtschiff H. Their keels have been constructed from transverse, longitudinal steel frames, and she will have twenty one interior watertight compartments.” He ran his finger along the hull schematic as he spoke. “The design will be immune to torpedo attacks, if a destroyer ever dared to try as much, and this hull design will make Hindenburg virtually unsinkable.”
Hitler loved the technical details of steel weight, tensile strength, yet all he heard was the name. “ Hindenburg ?” he said. “Not Hitler?” He smiled.
“We thought to name this class after the Helgoland series from the last war. One of the ships in that class was the Oldenburg , but as this was to be our H series design, we thought Hindenburg might be appropriate, followed by Brandenburg , Oldenburg , and so forth.”
Hitler thought for a moment. He had reservations about allowing a ship to have a name too closely associated with the Reich. What if it should be sunk? For the moment however, he was focused on the guns. “Yes, yes, leave it at that. But the guns. Can they be bigger? I want guns that will break the back of a British battleship in one blow.”
“We have designs for seventeen and nineteen inch guns as well, but the key concept here, my Fuhrer is to mount a gun best fitting the size of the ship. It’s a consideration of weight versus speed. What we want to achieve here is both speed and power. She will have a top speed of 30 knots. Anything that can catch us will surely be outclassed, given the protection we are building into this ship—strong horizontal protection with face hardened Krupp steel belt armor to 320 millimeters, 350 on the command tower, and 385 on the main guns. She will also get better deck armor, 200 millimeters thick, and we’ve added this new feature, six submerged torpedo tubes. They may be useful against convoys as well.”
“Do not speak to me of armor. I assume as much. It is the guns that interest me. These ships should have guns in the range of twenty inches.”
Raeder had anticipated this from the Fuehrer, but was unwilling to become bogged down now in a argument over gun size. “My Fuehrer, I have appointed Admiral Fuchs to make a detailed study of this very issue, and he will meet with you to report on his findings in short order.” Raeder had press ganged Fuchs into the battle, wanting him to try and convince Hitler that 16 inch guns would be more than adequate.
“Very well,” said Hitler flipping the page. “And these?”
Raeder had detailed out six ships, designs H through M, each with modified armament, armor, engine plants, and other minor details. “Let us consider all these as elements of the H class we are proposing,” he explained. “Six ships in all. These will form the heart of our main battle fleet. The fast Panzerschiff cruisers I mentioned earlier will be excellent as escorts on the initial breakout, and fine commerce raiders in their own rite. We envision a concept of one or two powerful ships operating in conjunction with the Panzerschiff and squadrons of U-boats. The entire task force will be refueled from tankers at sea and remain capable of extended operations in the Atlantic—up to two months if necessary.”
“It will most certainly be necessary,” said Hitler. “And the British know as much. They will guard their convoys with battleships, and they will outnumber us in that category and every
Similar Books
