Chapter 748 Transport Captain Roosevelt

Washington, White House.

Mr. Roosevelt, the president of the American tycoon country, also received the war report sent by telegram from Admiral Ingersoll, commander of the Atlantic Fleet at this time-the transport mission of the NR21 fleet was about 20% successful. Except for the ships bound for the Soviet Union, which are still safe and sound, the remaining transport ships lost 90%!

"Hiss..."

Roosevelt took a breath of cold air. Even if he led a country full of tycoons, he couldn't afford such losses! Just one transport mission lost 2 million tons of ships and more than 600,000 tons of cargo. In addition, 3 battleships and 6 heavy cruisers were also lost!

Even the tycoons can't lose like this. The money of the American tycoons is not blown by the wind. If they lose like this, they will go bankrupt in no time.

The President of the United States raised his big head and swept his sharp eyes over several people in military uniforms in the Oval Office. They were Admiral Lacey, Chief of Staff of the President, Admiral Marshall, Chief of Staff of the Army, Admiral Ernesto King, Chief of Naval Operations, and Lieutenant General Arnold, Commander-in-Chief of the Army Air Force.

"There is no other way, is there?" Roosevelt asked.

As the question came out of the mouth of the US President, the atmosphere in the Oval Office suddenly became extremely tense. If Churchill, Stalin and Japanese Emperor Hirohito heard Roosevelt's question now, they would definitely hold their heads up and prepare to cry!

Because Roosevelt's words still have the second half - let the evil Nazis go!

If the Atlantic transport has only a 20% success rate, then the counterattack on the European continent is definitely hopeless, and the Atlantic Ocean will only be the boundary with Germany in the future. And the United States will take advantage of Germany's opportunity to deal with Britain and the Soviet Union, turn around and take over the Pacific territory first, and then hang the Japanese emperor, so that it can probably fight against Germany, which dominates Europe, Africa and India.

Now it can be said that the United States of America is standing at the most important crossroads in history. Should it go west to deal with Japan, or insist on Europe's first place and continue to embarrass Germany?

Several generals seemed to be under a spell, and no one spoke - this is related to the fate of the United States and the world in the next 100 years or even longer. Who dares to speak without thinking it through?

The Oval Office was silent, dead silent. I don't know how long it took before I heard Admiral Lacey, the President's Chief of Staff, speak.

"Mr. President, Sir Dill, the head of the British military delegation in Washington, just talked to me on the phone and proposed a plan to form an Atlantic fast fleet."

"Atlantic fast fleet? Is it feasible?" Roosevelt immediately became interested. Dividing the earth with Germany was a last resort, and he was unwilling to do so.

"It is feasible to a certain extent." Admiral Lacey said, "The distance from the east coast of the United States to the port of Reykjavik, Iceland is about 2,300 nautical miles. If the average speed of the fleet can reach 25 knots, it can arrive in 92 hours at the fastest. As long as our confidentiality work is in place and we sail in a small fleet, the Germans may not be able to detect it."

92 hours is of course a straight line, which may not be feasible in actual operation. But the European Combined Fleet also dared not go straight to the battlefield from Gibraltar, as doing so would make the precious battleships vulnerable to submarine ambushes.

Therefore, Admiral Lacey's analysis is basically correct. If a small fleet of fast transport ships is used to transport troops and supplies to Britain, it will be difficult for the European Combined Fleet to intercept.

"So do we have so many fast transport ships?" Roosevelt asked immediately.

"Not many at the moment." Admiral Ernesto King replied, "Because our idea before was to build a slow fleet."

The famous Liberty ship and T2 tanker are both slow ships. The Liberty ship can only run at 11 knots, and the T2 is slightly faster, with the fastest model running at 16.5 knots.

One reason why the Americans built so many slow ships is to save costs and facilitate rapid construction - after all, fast ships use large marine boilers and steam turbines, which are very expensive equipment, and the production difficulty is relatively high, which cannot be compared with the steam engines used by Liberty ships and the marine diesel engines used by most T2 tankers. Moreover, large boilers and steam turbines are standard equipment for military ships (Germany has high-horsepower diesel engines that can be used for warships, but the production difficulty is also very high). If too many are used to build cargo ships and oil tankers, there will not be enough for warships.

Another reason is that when the Americans formulated the shipbuilding plan, they did not expect that the Germans would now firmly control the sea power in the Atlantic, making it impossible for the slow fleet to go to Britain through the North Atlantic route.

"How many fast ships are there now?" Roosevelt asked further.

"At present, we have three main types of fast ships. The first type is cruise ships and passenger ships, including Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Queen of India, Queen Britannia and Normandy. The second type is fast transport ships converted from warships, mainly from flat-deck destroyers. There are dozens of them, but the tonnage of these ships is very small. The third type is aircraft carriers."

"Aircraft carriers?" Roosevelt was stunned.

He knew both fast cruise ships and fast transport ships converted from flat-deck destroyers. The former was mainly used to transport troops, while the latter was used to transport supplies and troops to frontline islands. But Ernesto King's mention of aircraft carriers was beyond his expectation.

"The aircraft carrier is also a ship with a considerable carrying capacity and can be used to transport aircraft and vehicles." Ernesto King replied, "We can transfer the Wasp and the Raider from the Pacific back to the Atlantic to serve as vehicle and aircraft transport ships. In addition, the British also have two aircraft carriers, the Aquitania and the Berengaria, which were converted from large cruise ships. Their carrying capacity is more powerful and can not only transport aircraft and vehicles, but also carry a large amount of ammunition. and bulk cargo.”

Roosevelt nodded repeatedly, and his frown gradually relaxed. It seems that the United States can continue to intervene in the war in Europe, at least the transportation problem is not unsolvable. There are now several large cruise ships that can transport troops. One trip can cost tens of thousands, so transporting troops is not a problem. There are still five aircraft carriers that can transport vehicles and ammunition. The problem is not big. The only troublesome thing is transporting oil.

"What about the oil tankers?" Roosevelt asked, "We don't have fast oil tankers, do we?"

"We have a T2 oil tanker that can run 16.5 knots, which is considered fast." Ernesto King frowned and said, "If you want a faster oil tanker, you have to use the power system of a warship under construction."

There are several models of T2 tankers, the largest of which has a full load tonnage of more than 22,000 tons and can hold about 10,000 tons of oil. The main engine has more than 12,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of about 16 knots. If you want a ship of this level to have a high speed of 25-30 knots, the main engine power needs to reach 60,000-70,000 horsepower (the size of civilian ships focuses on reducing resistance in order to save fuel and main engine power, so a smaller power main engine can be used reaching a faster speed), it is almost the main engine of a destroyer.

In other words, if the United States builds a fast T2 tanker or similar cargo ship, it will have to build one less destroyer.

"So what should we do before the fast tanker is built?" Roosevelt thought for a while and then asked, "What method can we use to transport fuel to Britain?"

"It can only be smuggled."

"Smuggling?"

Ernest King nodded and said: "A single T2 flies the flag of a neutral country and sails to the other side of the Atlantic. The probability of not being discovered still exists. After all, the North Atlantic is very vast, and the current weather is bad enough."

A fleet of several hundred ships is definitely easier to detect than a single ship. If the Germans only have submarines that can attack the North Atlantic waterway, then it will definitely be advantageous to form a convoy, but now the Germans can use a powerful battleship formation to attack. Then the large escort fleet might be completely wiped out! In contrast, it is safer to dispatch a small fleet or even a single ship.

"If we are a single ship, what should we do if we encounter a German cruiser?" Roosevelt frowned again.

Ernest King shrugged, "It's hard to say, maybe even the ship and the oil belong to the Germans!"

At this time, Lieutenant General Arnold of the Army Aviation Corps shouted, "General! Are you saying that more than 20,000 tons of oil tankers and 10,000 tons of expensive C3 fuel will be thrown into the Atlantic Ocean for the Germans to rob?"

"Yes." Ernest King nodded and said, "The Germans won't be able to grab them all. I estimate that about 50% of the oil tankers will arrive safely."

"What about the remaining 50%?"

Ernest King spread his hands helplessly, "It may be burned, or it may be snatched away by the Germans."

What he meant was that if the crew was unwilling to put up resistance that would surely cost them their lives, then both the ship and the oil would become German property. As for whether to resist, the U.S. Navy has no choice. It is impossible for the U.S. Navy to issue an order to make the crew of the T2 tanker prefer death to surrender.

"This is funding the enemy!" Arnold said. "The German planes will burn these high-quality fuel and then drop bombs on our heads."

The refined oil products to be shipped to the UK are all high-octane and top-grade goods, and most of them are supplied to aircraft. Although Germany now controls the oil-producing areas in the Middle East, the Middle East is not yet the oil kingdom it will be in the future. Even if European countries invest in mining there, the current monthly oil production is only more than two million tons. Far from being wealthy, the Germans would be very happy if they could capture some from the Atlantic.

"Let's do it this way!" Roosevelt gritted his teeth. "We cannot give up Britain and Europe unless it is absolutely necessary. Even if we pay a very high price, it is acceptable. Moreover, this is only a last resort to temporarily cope with emergencies. We will wait until the rapid T2 Once the tanker is built, we will safely transport the oil to Britain to combat Germany's ambition to dominate the world."