Empire Conquest

Chapter 538 - 534 Flexibility and Adaptability

After discussing bombers and seeing off Marshall and Arnold, Nizi proposed the matter of battleships.

The focus, of course, was on the large carriers.

According to Nizi, it was essential to speed up the construction pace and scale of the "Ethe" class, ensuring not only that the lead ship could be delivered by the end of this year and enter service in the early next year but also that the delivery count for next year would increase from 3 to 5, accelerating the construction pace of the fifth and sixth ships; and the delivery for the following year would be expanded from 5 to 9, initiating the construction of the seventh and subsequent ships ahead of schedule, and from the seventh ship onward, all would feature a redesigned elongated front section to accommodate the latest ship-borne aircraft.

Furthermore, it was necessary to start the construction of the next type of large carrier ahead of time.

This was temporarily named the "CVB" large carrier.

Strictly speaking, this was the ideal large carrier for the Newland Navy. Since its full-load displacement was only 33,000 tons, and the elongated version only 36,000 tons, it was only about 10% larger than the Liangxia Navy’s "Imperial Capital" class, and substantially smaller than the 40,000-ton "Province" class, so strictly speaking, the "Ethe" class should be considered a large fleet carrier or an improved fleet carrier.

This type known as the "President Rofuss" class "Super Carrier" had a design standard displacement of 42,500 tons, exceeding the "Province" class’s full-load displacement, and its full-load displacement reached a staggering 60,000 tons, which was 50% higher than the "Province" class.

In terms of size, particularly the width of the hull, it directly matched the third lock of the Wangxi Canal.

As for combat capabilities, they were undoubtedly unquestionable.

Under normal conditions, it could carry more than 130 aircraft, and in overload, up to 150 aircraft, which was 40% to 55% higher than the "Province" class.

However, its advantage in protection was even more pronounced.

Strictly speaking, the "President Rofuss" class was the first large battleship of the Newland Navy constructed strictly with a minor compartment structure, and the first to use armored decks and hangar armor in its design, featuring a fully enclosed hangar and bow, and comprehensively reinforced anti-torpedo bulkheads.

It was this enormous investment in protection that caused the tonnage of this type of carrier to skyrocket.

Consequently, the direct result was that the cost of the "President Rofuss" class was frighteningly high, preliminarily estimated to be more than double that of the "Ethe" class and likely even higher.

That was where the problem lay.

Relative to its high cost, the combat capability of the "President Rofuss" class, especially the efficiency of operating ship-borne air force, had not increased in the same proportion, at most improving by 50% compared to the "Ethe" class. This meant the cost-effectiveness of the "President Rofuss" class was very poor.

One should not forget that the aerial combat capability of the "Ethe" class was almost on par with the "Province" class, just with somewhat lesser survivability.

Under any circumstances, three "Ethe" class ships were definitely stronger than one "President Rofuss" class ship.

Not to mention the members of the Congressional War Committee and those envious Army Generals, even within the Navy, many generals opposed constructing this overly large "Super Carrier" and felt that more "Ethe" class should be built to increase the overall combat strength and enhance the fleet’s tactical flexibility.

Initially, Nizi also opposed building the "President Rofuss" class, feeling that resources should be used to build the more balanced "Ethe" class.

Interestingly, this "President Rofuss" was the current president’s grand uncle, President Theodore Rofuss.

However, from the outside looking in, the naming of the super carrier as "Rofuss" by the shipyard and Navy seemed like a way to ingratiate themselves with the current president.

Now, Nizi had changed his stance and supported the construction of super carriers.

In his words, it had a lot to do with the Liangxia Navy.

Real-life combat had proven that the "Province" class’s combat power was stronger than previously predicted, definitely surpassing the "Ethe" class, and might even outpace the " lengthened Ethe" class.

That meant the "Ethe" class was already outdated before it was even built.

Additionally, the Liangxia Navy was also constructing larger carriers.

There was sufficient intelligence indicating that the Liangxia Navy had abandoned the third batch of the "Province" class, its improved type, and chose to build a super carrier with a standard displacement possibly exceeding 50,000 tons, whose combat power was far superior to the "Province" class, maybe even surpassing the "President Rofuss" class.

Based on the pace at which the Liangxia Navy is building carriers, these Super Carriers could be completed and in service by New Calendar year 103 at the earliest, and by New Calendar year 104 at the latest.

Other than constructing the "President Rofuss" class, there is no way to counter the Super Carriers of the Liangxia Navy.

As for the tactical flexibility stressed by Navy Generals, Nizi proposed another solution.

Taking the first post-Treaty Type Heavy Cruiser currently being built, the "Baltimore" class hull, he designed and built a Quasi-Fleet Carrier with a standard displacement of 15,000 tons and a full load displacement of about 25,000 tons that could reach speeds of 30 knots, ensuring a certain number of carriers.

Using new technologies and equipment allowed this Quasi-Fleet Carrier to have actual combat capabilities even higher than the "York" class, far surpassing the current "Independent" class light carriers. The slightly lower speed has a minimal impact in actual combat.

The key issue is, in fact, that they are cheap to produce.

The first batch of four "Baltimore" class ships has been delivered, and construction of a second batch of ten ships has already begun, clearly demonstrating economies of scale.

As expected, the next type of Heavy Cruiser is also a minor modification based on the "Baltimore" class.

Including Quasi-Fleet Carriers, the total number of ships constructed might very well exceed fifty.

As the number of constructions increases, the building costs will decrease.

This scale effect was demonstrated in the "Cleveland" class Light Cruisers and the "Independent" class light carriers.

According to Nizi’s analysis, the cost of the Quasi-Fleet Carrier could be kept at the level of the "Wasp", lower than the "York" class.

A carrier that is cheap and yet powerfully armed.

Moreover, these are carriers that can be afforded.

Additionally, the construction cycle of the Quasi-Fleet Carrier is much shorter than that of large carriers and Super Carriers.

With the current situation, adjustments can still be made to the construction order to ensure that the Quasi-Fleet Carriers are built in a timely manner and incorporated into the Navy’s combat sequence.

First, use the funding for the second batch of "Baltimore" class ships to start the construction work. After obtaining additional funding from Congress, begin building the second batch of "Baltimore" class Heavy Cruisers.

The only problem that needs resolution is increasing the number of shipyards.

If arrangements are appropriate, then the first group of eight ships, or even twelve, could be delivered to the Navy in the second half of next year.

By then, the Navy would at least be on par with the Liangxia Navy in terms of the number of main fleet carriers, thus obtaining the capacity to mount a counterattack strategically.

Just the twelve Quasi-Fleet Carriers are enough for a significant action in East Ocean.

Because of this, it’s crucial to settle this matter quickly and to start construction work immediately.

In Nizi’s words, if this gets delayed until the fourth quarter, even if hastened afterwards, the commissioning of the Quasi-Fleet Carriers would still be delayed by at least a year.

A year’s delay could mean that Newland Federation has already been defeated.

With enough Quasi-Fleet Carriers, they could reduce the number of light carriers and escort aircraft carriers being built.

Exactly how to adjust that is a matter for the future.

For now, the priority is to get the Quasi-Fleet Carriers’ construction underway; everything else is negotiable.

Nizi is interested not just in carriers but in other main battleships as well.