by Hall, Gerald
While the aircraft carrier’s captain looked on with some trepidation, the flying wing fighter sideslipped once more, then finally dropped down. The jet fighter’s main wheels made hard contact with the flight deck, an instant before the arresting hook under the Horton’s tail cone caught one of the arresting gear’s wires. This brought the fighter to a very rapid stop and prompted an audible sigh of relief from Kapitian Kreiger. The Graf Zeppelin’s commander spoke again a couple of moments later.
“I understand that the Horton fighter has had to be modified heavily for maritime use, Herr Großadmiral. The structure and skin is now largely metal instead of the wood composite that the original design used.”
“Ja, Herr Kapitian. The glue for the wood was unsuitable for an aircraft who would be constantly exposed to the ocean, I’m afraid. But the Horton brothers are confident that they have lost few of the advantages that their original design had. We also have to bear in mind that the Horton aircraft can now take advantage of the improved BMW gas turbine engines. While the aircraft does not have folding wings like our Focke Wulf, Vizeadmiral Gruber from the Kriegsmarine’s design bureau has assured me that the Horton design can be parked very compactly within your hangar and on your flight deck.”
“That is very good. I will need every aircraft that my ship can hold if we are going to be able go into combat against one of the other navies that also field large Flugzeugträger-type warships. The latest refit has removed all of the heavy Flak cannons from near the island. All of the remaining weapons on my warship consist of a handful of 5.5 centimeter Zwilling mounts and 3 centimeter quadruple mounts now.“
“Of course, you understand why that was done, Herr Kapitian. We learned that the locations of the SK C/33 Flak guns caused many problems with aircraft parked on the flight deck due to the muzzle blast from the weapons being fired. The removal of those mounts eliminated that problem and permitted several additional aircraft to be parked on the flight deck. The Gerät 58 Zwilling mounts could be easily installed on the edge of the flight deck with their associated fire control radars without impacting flight operations. The Flakvierling 103/38 mounts give us tremendous short range firepower, especially since they are also radar controlled.” Holtzburger explained.
“But I understand that the Flugzeugträger in service with the Englanders and Australians are going to be fitted with guided antiaircraft missiles. The Flugzeugträger Imperio in service with the Italian Navy is going to be able to fire guided antiship missiles. It seems that Graf Zeppelin is going to be more like the American vessels than anything else.“
“Ja, this is all true, Herr Kapitian. But this is why we are going to be building new cruisers and even more new Zerstörers that will be armed with both antiship and antiaircraft guided missiles. These new warships will be the defensive shield for Graf Zeppelin and our other Flugzeugträger. This will allow you to focus your ship and its aircraft on the offensive role. We learned about just how well the Amerikaners performed with this very combination of ships within their task forces.“
“I still do not like having to rely upon others for the defense of my ship, Herr Großadmiral. But I will work with the ship that I have. I am hopeful that with the new jets operating from Graf Zeppelin’s flight deck that we will be able to strike and destroy our adversaries long before they can threaten us.“
“Very good, Herr Kapitian. Hopefully, we will not have to fight anyone for some time to come. We lost far too many good Germans during the last conflict. It will take some time for us to recover our full strength. Perhaps, we will find that our next arena of conflict will allow us to achieve our goals where we were unable to succeed purely using our force of arms. Others in Berlin and elsewhere are already working on plans to fulfill our destiny.”
“Can you tell me anything about these plans, Herr Großadmiral?“
“I cannot tell you any specifics, Herr Kapitan. Our leaders in Berlin keep many details of these operations hidden from all but a select few personnel. However, what I do know is that we have people working on our behalf to cause several of our rivals to expend considerable amounts of their time and resources in places far away from Germany and her interests.”
”This is very good to know. While we still have some old-timers who served during the war in the Kriegsmarine still in uniform, most of our sailors are mere children. They have much to learn before they are truly ready for battle, Herr Großadmiral.“
“How many of us were truly ready for battle before it was thrust upon us, my friend?“ Holtzburger said with a smile as an Arado 234T jet bomber safely landed aboard Graf Zeppelin with a loud thump and squeal of tires before being dragged to a stop by an arrestor wire.
“I know that I certainly wasn’t ready for battle when I was a mere Leutnant zur See aboard Nurnberg fifteen years ago.“ Gunther laughed.
“How about our European and American rivals, Herr Großadmiral? I know that they have all learned lessons of the importance of Flugzeugträger operations from their observation of how the Englanders used their warships.
”Each of the nations have taken different paths with the design and operation of their Flugzeugträger vessels, Herr Kapitan. Those differences are quite interesting though.
“The French have almost completely finished with their conversation of Jean Bart into a dedicated Flugzeugträger. Jean Bart is significantly larger than the French navy’s other two Flugzeugträger; Joffre and Painlevé. But because Jean Bart was originally built as a battleship rather than as a Flugzeugträger like the latter two vessels, all three vessels carry approximately the same number of aircraft.
The forty aircraft that each vessel can carry is only about half the capacity of an Amerikaner Flugzeugträger. However, the French are quickly designing jet-propelled träger aircraft for using British engines built under license. We do not have a lot of information on the ships or their aircraft. The French have implemented an unprecedented degree of security measures concerning their military’s technical developments since our troops left French soil.
Based on the limited amount of information that we have, our analysts believe that the French are in the process of replacing most of their gun armament on their Flugzeugträger with guided antiaircraft missiles of indigenous design. The Abwehr does not have a lot of information on the technical characteristics of these weapons except that they are going to be fitted to Jean Bart first.“
“So Canaris’ spies have been able to learn something tangible about the French Navy’s technical plans after all, Herr Großadmiral?“
“Ja, Herr Kapitan. The French have not been able to keep everything away from us, in spite of all of the secrecy that they have employed since the beginning of the armistice. The scrapping of most of the French pre-war fleet was quite public. What is replacing these older warships is a subject that we have far less information on. It is a near certainty that the French will be installing guided missiles on as many new warships as possible in addition to Richelieu, Strasbourg and all of their Flugzeugträger.
The Italians operate two Flugzeugträger, both of which were converted from existing vessels. Aquila and Imperio. Aquila was a highly modified ocean liner before her conversion. Imperio was converted from the incomplete hull of an Italia-class fast battleship.“
“Jawohr, Herr Großadmiral. That would certainly give the Italians a very powerful naval air arm. Even though the French have three Flugzeugträger, compared to the two of the Marina Militare, the Italian warships are a near match in terms of offensive capability, it appears.“
“I would tend to agree with your opinion here, Herr Kapitan. You already know about the anti-ship missiles that Imperio carries. That makes her unique among Flugzeugträger anywhere else in the world. The space that Imperio has dedicated to carrying her anti-ship missiles will reduce her aircraft capacity to about fifty jet aircraft. This is still slightly greater capacity than Aquila.
The original design had four triple turrets located next to Impero’s island. A revised design instea
d had Impero armed with twelve 90mm dual-purpose guns in sponsons along the flight deck. These guns were advanced versions of the guns used by the Italia-class battleships. The Italians purchased the license from Cavill industries to produce the 25mm gatling guns to provide point defense for both Aquila and Impero. These weapons would replace the originally planned six-barrel 20mm anti-aircraft guns. The Impero’s aircraft and missiles would be its primary anti-ship weapons.
A modified Reggiane Re.2001 G/V Falco II had been the primary aircraft employed on the Italian aircraft carriers in both the fighter-bomber and torpedo bomber roles. A folding wing version would have allowed Aquila to carry 66 aircraft. Impero’s capacity would be even greater. A third carrier conversion was also planned for the Italian Navy. The Sparviero was built on a former ocean liner hull to be an auxiliary carrier, but her speed was too low to be useful. So the conversion was stopped and the vessel scrapped, saving the Italians many millions of lira.
But the Falco II is now obsolete, especially with the fielding of jet aircraft aboard the Englander Flugzeugträger fleet. The Italians have spent the past five years searching for an adequate jet-powered replacement for the Falco II. The Abwehr has learned that the Italians have finally signed a contract for that replacement.“
“I already have a very good idea of who the Italians have chosen to purchase their new jet fighters from. They are purchasing from the Australians, aren’t they, Herr Großadmiral?“
“Ja, Herr Kapitan. They are purchasing the jet-powered Dragonfly to operate from Aquila and Imperio. But the Italians will be building the airframes under license at the Fiat Aviazione plant at Turin. They will be supplementing the early Italian jet fighters that originally operated from the two Flugzeugträger.“
“The first Italian jets were very similar to the Dragonfly fighters that were designed by the consortium of Miles Aviation and Cavill Aviation, weren’t they, Herr Großadmiral?“
“Indeed, Herr Kapitan. The first Italian jet military aircraft were jet versions of the SAI-Ambrosini SS.4 which was originally designed as a canard pusher aircraft, like the Dragonfly, and the Reggaine Re.2007 which was of a much more conventional configuration. Both of these aircraft were modified for carrier use with folding wings and strengthened structures.
Unfortunately for the Italians, neither design was able to endure the damage that shipboard operations inflicted upon an aircraft’s airframe. The Marina Militare was forced to go to a foreign design when neither Ambrosini, Reggaine nor any of the other major Italian aircraft manufacturers were able to come up with an entirely satisfactory design. The French also offered their own aircraft designs, but the Italians were not happy with their performance.
The Italians were not very satisfied with any of the aircraft that we were willing to sell to them. I think that perhaps there were other political considerations involved as well. The leaders in Rome wanted to distance themselves from us because of what happened during the war. Mussolini’s trial and execution after the end of the war in Europe convinced many Italians that they wanted nothing to do with fascism or those who were associated with it, including us.”
“It seems that the damned Italians were being too particular to me, Herr Großadmiral.” Gunther grumbled.
“Perhaps so. But we already know that the jet-powered Dragonfly is a very reliable and capable aircraft. It will be even more so after the latest refit. The Abwehr has already learned that both Italian Flugzeugträger are going to be modified with angled flight decks to facilitate efficient operation of jet aircraft in addition to simultaneous takeoffs and landings.“
“It appears that most navies that have Flugzeugträger are making this change to their warships, doesn’t it? Gunther asked.
“In most cases, I would agree with you, Herr Kapitan. Oddly enough, the navy that pioneered naval aviation has been hesitating to make this refit to its latest warships of this type. The Americans have sharply reduced the amount of funds that they are committing to their military since the end of the Pacific War. This trend will probably accelerate if their opposition party succeeds in winning the Presidency. The leaders of the opposition Party in America have promised to reduce America’s military spending even more.”
“This makes no sense at all. The American Navy had been their nation’s most important service for many decades, Herr Großadmiral.”
“Ja, Herr Kapitan. But the war changed the American Navy in many ways. The Amerikaners had virtually all of their older battleships destroyed in combat in the Pacific Ocean during their conflict with the Japanese. The newer Amerikaner battleships have been tied to their Flugzeugträger vessels quite closely. The Amerikaners have placed very heavy antiaircraft defenses on these new battleships which are much faster than their pre-war designs. So the Amerikaners have closely tied the two types of capital ships in order to protect their Flugzeugträger ships from both surface and aerial threats.
Amerikaner Flugzeugträger defensive armaments are all oriented towards close-in defenses. The Amerikaners have focused their Flugzeugträger designs on being able to field and operate the largest number of aircraft possible, even to the expense of weapons and armor protection. There are six larger Flugzeugträger vessels in the Amerikaner fleet that were built and completed since the beginning of the war. They are supplemented by the few survivors of the pre-war fleet that had not been destroyed in battle or scrapped after the end of the Pacific conflict.
The Abwehr has learned that the Amerikaners have installed light armored protection on these six Flugzeugträger, though the Abwehr analysts‘ assessment has been that the deck armor thickness is not as heavy as what the Englanders have incorporated on their warships. The addition of the armored flight deck was the result of the Amerikaner experience against the Japanese in the Pacific and what the Amerikaners learned of the Englander Flugzeugträger battle damage reports. The Amerikaner designs compromised armor protection somewhat because they valued the large air groups still.“
“How heavy is the flight deck armor for the newer Amerikaner aircraft carriers compared to Graf, Herr Großadmiral?”
“We believe that it is slightly thicker than the armor of this warship. But the Amerikaner warships are at least fifty percent larger than your ship here, Herr Kapitan.”
“I hope that we do not have to find out just how capable the Amerikaner Flugzeugträger are. They still have so much industrial capability if sufficiently motivated.“
“I agree, Herr Kapitan. We should work very hard to keep that sleeping giant in his slumber. We must have an overwhelming advantage before we dare to poke it awake.” Hans replied with a chuckle before turning to watch another German jet fighter attempt to land on Graf Zeppelin’s flight deck.
Chapter Five:
Italian Naval Base
Harbor of Taranto, Italy
December 14, 1954
The naval base at Taranto was fairly active, though it had seen busier times in the past. Many of the berths along the various piers within the inner harbor were still empty. A dredger could be seen working along the harbor’s main shipping channel, deepening and widening the channel to make it more suitable for large ships. A distinctive ‘Y’ shaped jetty had several other vessels tied up to it.
Docked along the northern edge of the outer harbor were the two remaining battleships of the Marine Militare; Littorio and Vittorio Veneto. Moored along the eastern edge of the harbor at the Stazione Navale Mar Grande were several other warships including the aircraft carriers Aquila and Imperio along with a variety of smaller combatants.
The small island of Isola di San Pedro could easily be seen from the top of the old fortifications at Castel San Angelo. Next to the ancient castle was the swing bridge at Ponte Girevole that spanned over the channel that linked the inner and outer harbors of Taranto. That channel allowed passage for even the largest Italian capital ships between those two protected anchorages.
Standing on top of those fortifications were several Italian naval officers as they watched the bas
e’s activities. Since it was relatively cool at only fifteen degrees centigrade and slightly overcast skies, the officers were dressed in their overcoats as they stood there commenting among each other upon the Marine Militare’s future.
“The fleet is in sad shape, mio amico. We have not even remotely recovered from the debacle of the last war. I remember when every single one of our berths here was filled with warships ready for battle. Then we made the deal with that devil Hitler. The Germans should assist us in rebuilding. They owe us that much after casting us to the wolves.” Ammiraglio di Squadra Giovanni Ricci bitterly said as he looked out across the water towards the piers in the distance.
“The damned Germans don’t care about us, Signore. Even the generals who took over after Hitler’s death were ruthless as hell. We signed our own armistice with the Allies in 1944 and ousted that fool Mussolini. But the Germans still refused to leave Italian soil until they had finished dealing with the Soviets.” Contrammiraglio Piero Regio replied with an equal sense of anger.
“What is worse is that the Germans shot good men like Ammiraglio di Squadra Inigo Campioni and Contrammiraglio Luigi Mascherpa just because these Italian officers didn’t want to cooperate with Mussolini and his fascist puppets. Mussolini and his remaining followers were still holed up in northern Italy with the Germans occupying it.”
“Inigo and Luigi were both damned good commanders too. They certainly did not deserve what happened to them. But, the Germans are playing nice right now.”
“I know. They want to sell Mercedes, Porsche, BMW and Volkswagen cars and trucks to the rest of the world now. The Germans also want to sell guns and tanks to whoever has the cash to buy them.”
“I can’t exactly blame them. Export sales help the Germans pay for the rehabilitation of their cities. It’s not like we have a patron who has swooped in to give away money for recovery.”