Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 342: Cruise Ship

After exhausting the rich breakfast, Verbe and Henry left the rented hotel one after another. The British are going to take a stroll in the wharf area and purchase some travel equipment by the way, because following the plan, they will have a long sea journey next.

At that time, the most common means of transportation from the United States to Japan was the ocean liner. From San Francisco to Yokohama Port in Japan, it usually took fifteen to twenty days.

With the expansion of the war of aggression against China, Japan's demand for imported raw materials has increased rapidly. Nowadays, there are hundreds of large passenger and cargo ships that sail across the vast Pacific Ocean, sailing on this golden route.

In these years, if you have sufficient financial capacity, it is best to choose first-class or second-class cabins. Not only is the quality of board and lodging guaranteed, you can also get a certain priority when you escape from an accident. Of course, the two spy leaders will not be in danger of lack of money. Their external cover is successful businessmen, and they are fully qualified to enjoy a comfortable journey.

The Kamakuramaru [Kamakura Maru] cruise ship under the Japan Cruise Line stops at the San Francisco pier. The lowest fare for first-class cabin is 320 dollars. Guests in the superior suites also receive champagne and delicious snacks.

This cruise ship with a drainage capacity of 17,500 tons was originally called 【Chichibu Maru】. It is the second of three cruise ships of the same class customized by Japan Cruise Line. The other two are 【Asama Maru】and 【Dragon Tian Maru].

Because the ship’s power system chose a marine diesel engine produced in Denmark, the Kawasaki Shipyard changed the original design so that when the cruise ship was built, it was more than 500 tons heavier than her sisters. There are also obvious differences in appearance. She has only one independent large chimney, and the other two are still the original double chimney layout.

As the largest ocean-going cruise ship in Japan since the 1930s, the interior decoration of this ship is also the most luxurious. It not only boldly adopted the design of English and French styles, but also reached the world in terms of materials and craftsmanship. At the top level, the Japanese media proudly call it the "Queen of the Pacific" and regard it as the pride of the Yamato nation.

However, few people outside the outside world knew that from the beginning of its design and construction, this high-speed passenger-cargo mixed ship was favored by the Imperial Japanese Navy and became part of the "Strategy for Multiplying Combat Power." In order to avoid the restrictions of the "Washington Naval Treaty", the Japanese Navy really racked their brains. As a result, they came up with a "combined fleet combat power doubling strategy." To put it bluntly, once war broke out with the United States. , The plan to urgently convert large civilian ships owned by Japan into military ships.

It is important to know that the difference between warships and civilian ships is not only in whether they are equipped with weapons, but in fact, there are huge differences between the two in terms of structural design, manufacturing technology, or the selection of raw materials. The design of warships revolves around maritime combat capabilities, while civil ships consider economic benefits. From the design starting point, the two are very different, and they don't even urinate in a pot.

However, as long as the brains of the "genius" staff of the Imperial Navy are opened, it will be difficult to close it. Once this group of navy octopuses get into the horns, even if the entire combined fleet is activated, they cannot be dragged out.

How can it be more convenient and more effective to transform a civilian ship that can’t be beaten by military use into a warship? The way these people came up with was to consider possible future military modifications when designing the civilian ship. For example, in terms of hull structure and cabin layout, as much as possible to adopt a design approach that is as close to military ships as possible, so as to avoid major structural changes during reconstruction and reduce the materials and man-hours required for future naval construction.

In order to achieve this goal, the Japanese Navy has promoted the government cabinet and promulgated an "excellent ship construction subsidy measure". The state provides financial subsidies for the construction, maintenance and operation of high-performance civilian ships to encourage shipping companies and shipbuilders Build high-performance ships with a tonnage exceeding 6,000 tons and a speed higher than 19 knots. Correspondingly, these ships must be designed with elements for military purposes, which can meet the navy's goal of transforming into military ships within three months.

The money is not so easy to take. There are actually a lot of messy conditions associated with the policy, such as not allowing foreigners to work on the ship, using domestic raw materials as much as possible, and recruiting navy decommissioned personnel. , All are prepared for the purpose of war.

In the construction of this [Chichibu Maru], the Japanese government injected half of the construction funds into Japan Cruise Line, and the Japanese Navy Ship Management Headquarters directly participated in the design of passenger and cargo ships.

Even the direction of the ship’s transformation has been pre-determined. The navy plans to quickly transform her and her two sisters into a special aircraft carrier if necessary for war.

The Navy designed a huge cargo loading and unloading hatch for this cruise ship, which is actually reserved for the aircraft lift. At that time, only the superstructure needs to be demolished and the flight deck is laid. This "Queen of the Pacific" will be able to immediately Make a facelift and become a new member of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force.

Interestingly, after the outbreak of the Pacific War in history, the navy seemed to have forgotten about it. After the three cruise ships were requisitioned, they have been active as transport ships on Southeast Asian routes.

In early 1942, the [Chichibu Maru] as a naval transport ship (renamed [Kamakura Maru] in 1949) was given a special mission by the Japanese government to become a "hostage exchange ship."

Her black hull was painted with a huge white cross symbol, and turned into a medical ship. Immediately, 900 British diplomats, students and ordinary citizens detained by Japan in Shanghai, Singapore and other places were loaded in Kaohsiung to the port of Maputo, Mozambique, which was still a Portuguese colony.

After handing over the detainees to the Portuguese, she reloaded the same number of Japanese, Thai, and German diplomats and nationals detained by the British army, as well as the remains of some Japanese navy soldiers who died, and a large number of allied prisoners of war. The supplies ~IndoMTL.com~ finally returned to the Port of Yokohama smoothly, completing a rare humanitarian exchange between Japan and the West.

Historically, with the fiasco of the Midway Battle, the Japanese Navy finally remembered these three ships, but the naval shipyard’s 10,000-ton berth was limited, and the maintenance of active ships had to line up, and at that time it was busy refitting three [Daying] 】Class aircraft carrier, 【Chichibu Maru】reconstruction plan can only be ranked behind them.

The main body of the 【Daying】class is the Nittamaru-class cruise ship with a displacement of 18,000 tons. This class of ship is also a member of the ship construction subsidy program. The three ships are planned to be transformed into 【Kasuga】 Maru], [Nitta Maru] planned to be transformed into [Okihawk] and [Hachiman Maru] planned to be transformed into [Yunying].

[Chichibu Maru] was also planned to be transformed into a [Ohaka] class aircraft carrier, but before she was sent to the berth, on April 28, 1943, she was SS- The submarine No. 211 【Ju Fish】 sank six miles southwest of Panay Island in the Philippines.

But at this moment, the Pacific Queen of the Japan Post is mooring quietly beside the San Francisco pier. Ling Lingbo reflects light on the shiny black ship. I don’t know what future destiny awaits. she was.

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