Chapter 561 Plan

"Say it again?!" President Roosevelt looked at Ernest who came to report with a stunned face, and felt his heart begin to ache again.

Ernest repeated it with an ugly face. "Four freighters hit mines and sank outside the Brooklyn base. The ships were carrying 80,000 tons of special steel originally planned to build battleships and aircraft carriers. Then the base commander Johnson shot and killed five people in the command post, and finally shot himself."

President Roosevelt's mouth twitched slightly. "Is he crazy?!"

"According to the staff in the command post at the time, Johnson showed abnormality when he saw the third freighter sinking. When the fourth freighter sank, he went completely crazy. Maybe he was too stimulated."

"What an idiot!" Roosevelt said puzzledly after cursing secretly. "You said those freighters were sunk by mines? Not German submarines? When did the Germans lay the mines?"

"When the first freighter sank, Johnson immediately sent out a destroyer to search, but then the second freighter exploded, so he suspected it was a mine and sent out a minesweeper to clear it. But the minesweeper had already carefully swept the sea area several times, and the third and fourth freighters still hit mines and sank. As for when they were laid, it might be during the last German submarine attack." But the question is, how could the mines laid at that time not be detonated until now? And the mines that hit the mines were all large ships. Could it be that the German mines can distinguish the tonnage of the ship and specifically look for large ships to detonate?

A series of questions came to Ernest's mind, and he felt a dull pain in his head. "It should be a new type of mine of the German army. I guess this type of mine is not a traditional anchor mine floating in the sea water, but sinks to the bottom of the sea, so our minesweepers cannot sweep it. It may use a timing device to delay the start. As for the detonation of large ships, it may use some special fuses, such as water pressure, magnetic fuses or something."

The Germans' new weapons are really endless. President Roosevelt rubbed his temples, took a deep breath, and asked. "Is there any way to deal with these new mines?"

Ernest replied. "I have asked people to study it, but it will take time."

"We need to increase our efforts." If German submarines come here every now and then to lay such mines, won't their ships be trapped in the port? "Are there any news from Greenland?"

"The mission went smoothly. They have basically found out the basic situation of Greenland. There are only more than 5,000 troops stationed there, no more than 50 fighters, and no more than one armored regiment. The rest are engineers. They are building a large-scale airport there, which can accommodate at least 1,000 aircraft. There are no large warships in the port, only a few cruisers and destroyers."

"A thousand aircraft?" President Roosevelt's face was a little ugly. Once the German bombers are stationed in Greenland, they can bomb the US mainland. But similarly, they can also threaten the European mainland after they capture Greenland. "How are the preparations for the Greenland operation going?"

"We have gathered two Lexington-class aircraft carriers, one Ranger aircraft carrier, and two Yorktown-class aircraft carriers."

There are two Lexington-class aircraft carriers, the first ship "Lexington" and the second ship "Saratoga". Converted from a Lexington-class battlecruiser, it became the largest aircraft carrier in the navies of all countries in the world with a full load displacement of more than 43,000 tons at the time of its birth. This record in the US Navy was maintained until the commissioning of the Midway-class aircraft carrier in 1945.

The Ranger aircraft carrier was the first ship designed and built for the purpose of an aircraft carrier by the US Navy. It was the only large aircraft carrier in the US Atlantic Fleet in the early days of World War II. Due to its small tonnage and island, narrow flight deck and wave resistance, the Ranger aircraft carrier did not become mainstream, and the subsequent construction plan was also cancelled. The problems arising from its design and operation provided many valuable experiences for the design of subsequent aircraft carriers.

The design of the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier was subject to the tonnage restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty and the London Naval Treaty. However, compared with the previous generation of the Ranger, it is more suitable for the strategic and tactical use of the US Navy. It can carry a large number of aircraft and has superior speed and endurance. However, its underwater defense is insufficient. Before the Essex-class aircraft carriers entered service at the end of 1943, this class of ships had always been the backbone of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet.

The first ship of the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier was the "Yorktown", and the second was the famous "Enterprise".

"In addition, there are three Colorado-class battleships and one Tennessee-class battleship."

The Colorado-class battleship was a type of battleship built by the United States before World War II. It was originally planned to build four ships, but three were actually built, including the "Colorado", "Maryland" and "West Virginia". It followed the standard style of American battleships at the time, including a clipper bow, a caged main mast, secondary guns installed on the forecastle deck, and an electric propulsion power system, mainly improving firepower and protection.

There are two twin 406mm main turrets on the front and rear decks respectively. All four main turrets are arranged along the longitudinal centerline of the ship, and are back-to-back in front and behind the ship. This layout allows eight guns to fire simultaneously from the broadside, or four guns to fire in the forward and rear directions, which can exert the firepower of broadside salvos and ensure that the main guns have a good firing range in the forward and rear directions.

The Tennessee-class battleship is the predecessor of the Colorado-class battleship. Construction began in 1917. Based on the experience of the Battle of Jutland, the hull is divided into multiple compartments. The underwater defense performance is much better than the battleships built by the US Navy in the past, and the horizontal defense armor of the hull is strengthened. This class of ships uses the same electric propulsion power system as the New Mexico-class. The elevation angle of the main gun is increased, and the range is extended. The masts with large fire control facilities are installed on the front and rear main masts.

The original plan was that the newly built North Carolina would also join this operation, but it was sunk by a German submarine, and died before it could achieve success.

"It will take more than a month for the Washington to officially enter the battle. Do you think you should wait?" The Washington is the sister ship of the North Carolina.

Five aircraft carriers and four battleships sound like a lot, but these are old battleships. If the German Navy hears the news and rushes here, relying on these old battleships to fight the German Navy, Ernest really doesn't have much chance of winning. So he hoped to add a few new warships to improve his chances of winning.

But President Roosevelt shook his head decisively. "This matter cannot be delayed any longer, execute it immediately."