Chapter 631 Battle of Malta (3)

The latest website: When London announced that the home fleet would patrol the North Sea and conduct tactical exercises at sea, Alexandria, the station of the British Mediterranean Fleet, was also doing some preparations.

“Hang it a little higher.”

“Come here and help.”

“This pile of supplies is not our Collingwood, but the Vanguard. Don’t make a mistake just because our two ships are almost the same.”

At this time, there was a very busy scene in Alexandria, and a large number of various materials and ammunition were constantly being loaded onto the battleship. At this time, even people who don’t understand the navy know that this is the final preparation for the battleship before the sea.

At this time, a large number of warships were moored in Alexandria, and the leftmost dock was four St. Vincent-class (St. Vincent, Collingwood, Vanguard, Neptune), these four battleships formed the third battleship of the Mediterranean Fleet The squadron is the pacesetter in the various trainings of the Mediterranean Fleet.

Next to the four St. Vincent-class ships is the second battleship squadron composed of three Colossus-class battleships (Colossus, Hercules, Montague)

It was the last dreadnought built in the UK and the fastest dreadnought from construction to service. Because of the news of the expansion of the German and Italian navies, the British Navy urgently built three Colossus-class ships in response.

In the face of the requirements of the Admiralty, the British shipyard was already familiar with the construction of the dreadnought at this time, coupled with the use of mature design solutions, so this warship completed the work from construction to launch in only one year. Of course, with the addition of outfitting, sea trials, etc., it took two years to enter service.

It only took more than two years from the start of construction to the commissioning, and the construction of the Colossus-class is already very fast. Of course, being fast also comes at a price. After the Colossus class was later handed over to the Navy, its officers and soldiers did not perform very well, and small problems emerged one after another. After that, it was normal to enter the shipyard to make small changes.

Then next to the Colossus is the core of the Mediterranean battleship formation, the three super-dreadnoughts of the 1st Squadron of Battleships of the Mediterranean Fleet, the Orion, the Conqueror, and the Centurion. Although these three ships belong to the Orion-class and the George V-class respectively, as two battleships with little difference in firepower, protection, and speed, which were built in the same year, there is no problem in grouping them into a team.

The flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet is the Orion of the squadron. This battleship is a battleship urgently developed by the United Kingdom after it learned that Germany and Italy would put a 350mm main gun on the ship. The ship is equipped with a 13.5-inch 45-caliber naval gun (343mm) developed by the United Kingdom.

In terms of power, protection, and firepower, this Orion class is the super-dreadnought ship of Germany and Italy. Except for the speed (22 knots), which is slightly lower than the Italian Cavour class, the difference in other aspects is not considered. big.

Of course, as one of the most important fleets in the UK, in addition to battleships, the Mediterranean Fleet also has new types of ships that have appeared in recent years, battlecruisers. The battle cruise formation to which the Mediterranean Fleet currently belongs is docked to the right of the first squadron of the battleship. Invincible, Indefatigable, Indomitable formed the vanguard of the Mediterranean Fleet.

Unlike history, due to the Italian Taranto class as a reference and potential target, the Invincible-class war cruiser must be designed from the beginning to be no lower than or close to the Taranto class in performance. Therefore, the length and displacement of the invincible-level battle cruisers in this time and space are rising steadily.

The standard displacement of this class of warships has reached 22,300 tons, and the full load has reached 25,100 tons. In terms of firepower, the ship is equipped with 8 305 mm 45 times main guns, 16 single 45 times 102 mm secondary guns, and 5 457 mm underwater torpedo tubes.

In terms of power, it is equipped with 24 kerosene mixed boilers, using 2 steam turbines, four shafts, with a maximum output power of 52,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of 26 knots.

Moreover, because of the threat of the Taranto class on the armor, the invincible class with thin skin and big stuffing disappeared, but there was an existence that could compete with the Taranto class.

In fact, it’s normal to think about it. The British are not stupid. You, Italy, come up with a warship with excellent performance in all aspects. How can I come out to see people with poor performance? And as a sea hegemon, then you must not be able to do so on a warship. Lag behind people, at least not let others see.

Everyone plays the navy, so everyone can have a good idea of ​​the performance of a warship. You don’t say that a warship that can only run 21 knots can run 24 knots, because everyone can see it. .

As for the indefatigable, it is an improved version of the invincible, and its performance has a certain improvement compared to the invincible, but the three key data of firepower, protection and speed are not much different, far less than the latest Italian Milan class. Install patrol.

Speaking of which, in fact, the most embarrassing of the Mediterranean formations are these “perfect cats”, because in terms of quantity and quality, they are suppressed by their opponents, the Italian war cruise formation.

Faced with this situation, the officers and soldiers of the war patrol formation of the Mediterranean Fleet joked that they are definitely the most unusual existence in the British Imperial Navy, because their task is to run when they see the enemy.

There is no way not to run, the number is 3 to 5, and the opponent also has a Milan-class equipped with a 350mm main gun. Once the three war patrols of their own are entangled, the end will definitely be bad.

Regarding the dilemma of the battle patrol formation, the Mediterranean Fleet and the Admiralty are as clear as a mirror, but it is no brainer to supplement the battle patrol of the Mediterranean Fleet, and it will be rejected directly at the source.

Simply because, like the battleships, the British Empire battlecruisers were not wealthy. Thanks to the addition of Italy as a spoiler, the British Empire has more requirements on the quantity and quality of warships.

This also makes the British Empire need to spend more funds than in history to maintain the throne of the world’s first navy.

Although the United Kingdom is a world hegemony country that is rich and powerful, it is not easy to increase military spending. The government, parliament and even the people all need a statement.

In a sense, European countries were not well prepared and aware of this war at that time. They all prepared according to the previous war, and at most strengthened it, except for the Kingdom of Italy under the leadership of Carlo.

This also led to the insufficient preparation of the UK for Italy, which had increased its strength, and led to insufficient growth in the strength of the Mediterranean fleet.

Of course, for its commander General Cardon, this is already the best result.

Looking at the busy officers and soldiers at the dock, he turned to Lieutenant General Robeck, the chief of staff beside him. “This is our best chance and our last chance.”

“Yes Admiral, God bless the British Empire.”

Lieutenant General Robeck agreed very much with General Cardon’s words.

As high-ranking officers in the army, they know more than ordinary officers and soldiers.

Although the Italian navy currently has an advantage, their Mediterranean fleet can still resist and hold back their opponents. UU reading www.uukanshu.com

If the time comes to next year, the period of Italian strength will continue to expand. Because the Rome class in Italy will be in service next year, and its cutting-edge warships equipped with 380mm main guns, no warship in the Mediterranean fleet can resist.

The Queen Elizabeth class, which the British can compete with, because the construction time is later, even if the Navy has been urging it, its service time is eight months to a year later than the Roman class in Italy. (This is the result of the joint research of the three countries, which led to the earlier acquisition of new technologies by Germany and Italy, which allowed the new warships developed by them to start construction sooner.)

In eight months, this is enough for the Italians to establish an absolute advantage in the Mediterranean. By that time, unless the United Kingdom transfers all eight Elizabeth-class ships to the Mediterranean, it will be difficult to regain the advantage.

Precisely because the situation is so dangerous, it is necessary to destroy the Italians’ vigour before their advantage expands.

Otherwise, it will be a question whether the Mediterranean fleet can hold Egypt until the Roman class is in service.

(End of this chapter)