Chapter 1616 Naval Power

February 1, 1936.

Rhine City.

After several rounds of meetings and revisions, East Africa's eighth five-year economic development plan was officially released. This plan clearly defines the general direction for East Africa to be impacted by the third technological revolution.

This involves many aspects. In terms of energy, the concept of new energy was first proposed, including nuclear energy, wind power, photovoltaics, batteries, etc. In the transportation sector, aviation is a key development direction, and high-speed rail research and development is also underway. Information technology, such as computers, semiconductor materials, and integrated circuits, has also been a major focus.

The release of the Eighth Five-Year Plan was significantly later than in previous years, which also illustrates East Africa's transformation in the world economy, from a learner and follower to an independent explorer and leader.

Moreover, this Eighth Five-Year Plan is significantly different from previous ones in that it places scientific and technological research and innovation first, whereas previous East African economic plans placed industry first.

Many of the concepts and cutting-edge technologies proposed by East Africa during the Eighth Five-Year Plan period have not yet been broken through and applied in East Africa, so there is naturally no talk of the development and growth of related industries.

…

Maputo, East Africa.

As the largest city in the south of the empire, Maputo has developed by leaps and bounds in recent years and has become the largest comprehensive city in southern East Africa. In 1932, it became one of the 17 largest cities in East Africa with a population of over one million.

The former largest city in the south, the Port of New Hamburgo, was surpassed by Maputo in terms of industry due to its port conditions.

In the past decade or so, southern East Africa has been one of the fastest-growing regions in the empire, so Maputo has also entered the fast lane of development and become the main sea outlet for the South African plateau, southern coast, and plains provinces.

The faster development of ports and logistics has accelerated the convergence of population and industry to Maputo. At the same time, Maputo's development has also been affected by the changes in East Africa's foreign trade routes, especially the increasing importance attached to the Sunda Strait and Australia routes.

Against this backdrop of development, Maputo's shipbuilding industry also reaped great rewards. By the early 1930s, Maputo had become the new shipbuilding center of East Africa and the only shipbuilding base in southern East Africa.

In 1935, Maputo Shipyard No. 1 received an order from the Navy.

"This is the aircraft carrier our shipyard is currently building. Its displacement is designed to be over 50,000 tons. This is also the largest aircraft carrier currently under construction in the Empire."

In early February 1936, Shaler, the director of the Maputo Shipyard, and naval personnel introduced the behemoth before them.

Commodore Podor asked, "Director Schaller, how long do you expect this aircraft carrier to be completed?"

Schaller replied, "According to our agreement with the Navy, this aircraft carrier must be completed within four years. We started construction in June of last year, and it will probably take another three years to be fully completed."

Brigadier General Podor was not very satisfied with the time. He asked, "Can we speed up the process?"

Factory Director Shaler shook his head and said, "This aircraft carrier is quite special. After all, the technologies it uses are the most advanced in the Empire, and its size is much larger than any aircraft carrier built by the Empire before. Therefore, speeding up the construction is not easy."

"Four years is already a tight deadline for our shipyard. If we speed up the process, we'll either have to spend more money or relax some of the standards. I think both of these points will be difficult for you to accept."

The navy's budget is limited, so it is obviously not up to Brigadier General Podor to decide whether to pay more money. As for the latter, lowering manufacturing standards is even more impossible.

After all, it is peacetime now, and East Africa does not need to rush into a naval military competition.

Commodore Podor said with some regret: "Right now, the navy is actually a bit of a successor. Last year we retired two battleships, but the replacement aircraft carriers are still under construction."

The number of battleships in East Africa has been reduced from eleven to nine, and there are only six aircraft carriers at present. Therefore, new main combat ships are urgently needed to supplement them. Now, there are two aircraft carriers under construction in East Africa, including this one in the dock of Maputo No. 1 Shipyard.

In the field of main combat ships, that is, battleships and aircraft carriers, the number of battleships in East Africa is even lower than that of Japan. Japan has nine battleships in service alone, and two are undergoing modernization.

In addition, Japan had two battleships under secret construction, so the total number of Japanese battleships was eleven, exceeding the East African Navy.

The Royal Navy has 15 battleships, two of which are undergoing modernization, and five new battleships are planned to be built.

Next is the United States, which also has fifteen battleships and two new ships under construction, making a total of seventeen.

These three countries have surpassed East Africa in the number of battleships.

If we only consider the number of aircraft carriers that East Africa is focusing on developing, they actually do not have much advantage over these three countries.

There are currently six aircraft carriers in service in East Africa, which is the same number as the UK. East Africa has two new aircraft carriers that have not yet been completed, while the UK has only one. However, the UK has placed orders for two new ones. If the East African navy does not follow up, the UK may overtake East Africa in the number of aircraft carriers.

The United States has five aircraft carriers in service, and one has been built and is undergoing sea trials, which means that the number of aircraft carriers in the United States has reached six. At the same time, the United States also has an aircraft carrier under construction.

Finally, there is Japan, which also has five aircraft carriers in service, plus one under construction.

Therefore, comparing the number of battleships, East Africa lags behind the other three countries significantly, while in terms of aircraft carriers, East Africa ranks first, but it does not have a clear numerical advantage over the other three countries.

This is also the reason why Commodore Bordeaux is dissatisfied with the current strength of the Imperial Navy.

He said, "The Empire is still a bit conservative in its naval investment. After the Treaty of London became a waste paper, other countries' naval construction plans were obviously more bold than the Empire's, and they widened the gap with us."

"This is very disadvantageous for us. After all, the Imperial Navy is under great pressure. We are responsible for too many sea areas, covering the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the Empire's colonies are also very scattered, and the pressure on overseas military bases is relatively high."

"It's already difficult for us to compete with the United States alone. If we also consider countries like Britain and Japan, the dispersion of our naval forces will be very dangerous."

"The size of the US Navy is not much different from that of the Imperial Navy, but the US Navy only needs to take care of two directions, namely the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Moreover, the Atlantic Ocean is the US Navy's key focus area."

"In this way, it will be difficult for our Atlantic Fleet to compete with the US Atlantic Fleet, which will threaten the Empire's interests in the Atlantic."

To put it simply, what Commodore Bordeaux said is that while the East African and U.S. navies are of similar size, the U.S. is divided into two, while East Africa is divided into three. Therefore, as one-third of the East African Atlantic Fleet, it will obviously have a harder time competing with the one-half of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

In the Atlantic, the US Navy is not the only competitor in East Africa, but also the more powerful Britain and the relatively strong France.

"The Empire should increase its naval investment in the Atlantic Ocean to ensure the safety of the Empire's interests in the Atlantic Ocean."

Director Schaller disagreed with General Bordeaux's statement. He said, "General Bordeaux's concerns do have some truth to them, but they are clearly overblown."

"After all, the Empire's naval power in the Atlantic cannot be judged solely by paper data. Our navy in the Indian Ocean is ready to provide support to the Atlantic at any time, but it is not easy for the US Pacific Fleet to provide support to the Atlantic Fleet."

"They have to go through the Panama Canal first, and they have to consider the balance in the Pacific. For example, if the US Navy mobilizes in the Pacific, Japan might have ideas."

The situation of the Indian Ocean Fleet in East Africa is very special, because the data of the Indian Ocean Fleet is relatively excessive. This is not because the Indian Ocean Fleet is too strong, but its strength is somewhat wasted in the Indian Ocean.

In the entire Indian Ocean, the East African Navy has no competitors at all. Even the British naval power in the Indian Ocean direction is not prominent.

The British deployment of naval forces in the Indian Ocean is similar to that of East African naval forces in the Pacific. Both have a sense of "giving up" at any time and are more of a deterrent to non-naval powers in the region.

For example, if the Pacific Fleet in East Africa fights against the Japanese Navy or the US Pacific Fleet, it will have no chance of winning and can only bully other countries.

Similarly, Britain is well aware that it has no chance of winning against the East African Navy in the Indian Ocean. Their current naval power in the Indian Ocean is more of a deterrent to countries outside East Africa.

In fact, the East African Indian Ocean Fleet does not even need main combat ships to defeat the naval forces of other countries in the Indian Ocean.

At the same time, East Africa has powerful weapons such as submarines. The submarine force alone can cause heavy damage to other forces in the Indian Ocean.

In this way, the Indian Ocean Fleet in East Africa has actually become a reserve force, and its main combat fleet can support the Atlantic or Pacific Fleet at any time without worrying about fires in the backyard.

Even in the Indian Ocean, the East African Navy does not need to take action, as the East African Air Force can cause great trouble to other navies.

Schaller continued, "Although the Imperial Navy's main battleships are relatively few in number, their quality is much higher than that of other navies. Take the aircraft carrier we're currently building, for example. Once completed, it will be the most advanced in the world."

"The largest aircraft carrier currently in service in the United States has a standard displacement of just over 30,000 tons, which is much smaller than the one we're building. Furthermore, the Empire's application of many technological advances is also more advanced than other countries' aircraft carriers."

"So, just looking at aircraft carriers, the Empire's strength is actually far greater than other countries that have developed aircraft carriers, even though the British have the same or slightly more aircraft carriers than us."

"However, the British have to keep an eye on Europe, especially the eastern North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Their naval deployments and range of activities don't overlap much with the Imperial Navy."

The main force of the British Navy operates in European waters, while the East African Navy's activities in Europe are almost zero for the time being. There is only one East African naval base in Dalmatia.

"In the Empire's maritime strategy, the British Navy doesn't have much influence. Germany, the Soviet Union, and other European countries are holding them back. The United States is the only remaining threat to us. But as I mentioned before, if the US Navy enters the South Atlantic, they will not only face the Empire's Atlantic Fleet, but also the Atlantic Fleet and the Indian Ocean Fleet."

As for Japan, it was basically ignored by Director Schaller. It was hard for Schaller to imagine Japan declaring war on East Africa. After all, the size gap between Japan and East Africa was too large. In front of East Africa, Japan was like an ant.

He said: "The Japanese Navy is quite powerful, but they are basically confined to the Pacific. The Imperial Pacific Fleet is indeed unable to compete with the Japanese Navy. However, to put it bluntly, the Pacific Fleet is basically a retirement home for the Imperial Navy's ships. Its equipment is outdated and its combat effectiveness is far inferior to that of the other two ocean fleets."

Brigadier General Bordeaux praised, "Director Schaller, you have a good eye and have indeed seen some strategic details. However, for our navy, the Imperial Navy does have a great hidden danger now."

"Take aircraft carriers, for example. Imperial aircraft carriers are indeed technologically advanced, but who can guarantee their true combat effectiveness? We don't have data from battles with other countries, and the navy itself depends on luck."

"For example, the Spanish Armada had bad luck and was defeated by the weaker British. The ancient Yuan Dynasty's expedition to Japan suffered heavy losses due to the weather. There was also the war between Tsarist Russia and the Japanese Navy, and the naval battle between the Far Eastern Empire and Japan..."

"These cases all illustrate that the quality of naval equipment doesn't necessarily determine the outcome of a war. Furthermore, the world's major naval powers don't have a significant generation gap in weaponry compared to ours."

"If we're unlucky and something unexpected happens, it will definitely be a significant threat to the Imperial Navy. Therefore, the sheer number of the navy can play a huge role in war. Even a single failure won't completely change the course of the war."

"For example, if we can have more than ten aircraft carriers, the Imperial Navy won't have to worry about sudden risks. Even if the enemy launches a surprise attack and causes serious losses, there will be enough force to launch a counterattack."

"Right now, what we lack is the number of aircraft carriers. In fact, if possible, we don't have enough battleships either. Although battleships are considered outdated within the empire, they are still one of the main forces of the modern navy. Especially when other countries' navies also have impressive aircraft carrier fleets, the number of battleships may be a key variable in war."

"Therefore, the Empire should now speed up the construction of aircraft carriers, or delay the retirement of battleships, so that the transition process of our main battleships can run more smoothly."

The East African Navy is actually accelerating the replacement of battleships with aircraft carriers. However, there are many troubles for aircraft carriers to replace battleships, because aircraft carriers rely more on system combat and must bring various auxiliary ships with them every time they are deployed. Battleships are more like knights who can break into the battle alone. Therefore, for every aircraft carrier that is put into service, East Africa must match it with a corresponding combination to make it a complete aircraft carrier combat formation.

(End of this chapter)