Chapter 52: Four Major Japanese Navy Shipbuilding Officials
The Japanese Army Wu Naval Arsenal’s Aircraft Carrier Akagi is currently undergoing outfitting repairs,
Kikuo Fujimoto also came from the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, the arsenal that manufactured the Akagi and Kaga aircraft carriers, to discuss with the designers and engineers of the warships and aircraft carriers on this side, preparing to build a new type of aircraft carrier.
Kikuo Fujimoto is known as the Japanese Army’s samurai tachi, the Japanese Army’s shipbuilding genius.
Because the 《London Naval Treaty》 emerged in 1930, this treaty completely blocked all loopholes in the Japanese Army’s design and construction of aircraft carriers, putting even Japanese Army aircraft carriers under 10,000 tons into the tonnage restriction range.
It was also because of this that the combat power and carrier-based aircraft storage capacity of the small aircraft carriers that the Japanese Army painstakingly built were greatly discounted.
So the Japanese Army naval warship shipbuilding officers who came this time, besides the renowned Navy Shipbuilding Major General Kikuo Fujimoto, also included the Japanese Army Navy’s four major shipbuilding officers.
They are respectively Naval Engineering Bureau, Fourth Department Director Keiji Suzuki Shipbuilding Major General, and Naval Technical Research Institute Director Yuzuru Hiraga Shipbuilding Major General, as well as Wu Naval Factory Shipbuilding Department Planning Director Kakuji Suzuki Shipbuilding Lieutenant Colonel,
as well as Shipbuilding Department Chief Kiyoshi Nagamura Shipbuilding Colonel, and the already arrived Naval Engineering Bureau, Fourth Department Planning Director Kikuo Fujimoto Shipbuilding Colonel, as well as Wu Factory Accounting Department Chief Shigeji Nakano Paymaster Major General, Shipbuilding Department Chief Staff Tsunahiko Kubo Shipbuilding Colonel,
as well as Wu Factory Steel Manufacturing Department Chief Eikichi Yokota Engineer.
These are all the renowned Japanese Army Navy’s four major shipbuilding officers,
They gathered here this time also to discuss once again how to circumvent the 《London Naval Treaty》 launched by the British Army,
to build combat aircraft carriers that can carry more than 100 carrier-based aircraft,
For such an unrealistic idea, the Japanese Army Navy warship designers are completely unoptimistic about it and do not support it.
But under the constant bickering between the Japanese Army Navy Operations Department and the designers, they still want to manufacture some small aircraft carriers that can carry more than 70 aircraft, and it’s best if they can also mount 155mm secondary guns.
And today these Japanese Army naval warship shipbuilding officers gathered at the Japanese Army Wu Naval Arsenal precisely to discuss this construction matter once again.
However, while they were watching the repairs of the Aircraft Carrier Akagi on one side and having a heated discussion on the other,
“By the way, have you heard? His Majesty the Navy Marshal and the headquarters side seem to be supporting those Kwantung Army, preparing to launch the Battle of Shanghai, and at that time they will also dispatch our aircraft carrier fleet for attack operation!”
“At that time, it will probably let our aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft group participate in offensive operation against the Chinese Army for the first time!”
“Personally, I’m quite worried whether this will expose the design vulnerabilities of our aircraft carriers and the number of our carrier-based aircraft group, drawing the attention of those foreigners to us, and leading them to launch even more restrictions on our navy aircraft carrier development?”
But when these Japanese Army shipbuilding officers were discussing most vigorously,
Naval Technical Research Institute Director Yuzuru Hiraga Shipbuilding Major General said with some worry.
“Then we can also take a gamble, betting that after we secretly research and develop the new type of small aircraft carrier, most naval powers will withdraw from the 《London Naval Treaty》, this damned restrictive treaty.”
“I’ve heard that quite a few foreign countries are now very dissatisfied with this 《London Naval Treaty》, including the United States which is also very angry about this treaty that restricts its own navy strength!”
“So I think this treaty that restricts the navy strength of all foreign powers will absolutely not last long! So let’s properly research how to secretly develop a 20,000-ton new type of aircraft carrier!”
Naval Engineering Bureau, Fourth Department Director Keiji Suzuki Shipbuilding Major General, however, had a relaxed expression on his face and smiled as he responded.
He is very attentive to the news and information from various foreign countries regarding their views on the 《Washington Naval Treaty》 and 《London Naval Treaty》.
So he knows quite a few insider messages.
“Hey! Don’t you really care if His Majesty agrees to those Kwantung Army launching the Shanghai Operation?”
“At that time, we don’t know which aircraft carriers our Navy Headquarters will dispatch for attack operation!”
However, after Keiji Suzuki Shipbuilding Major General finished speaking,
Wu Naval Factory Shipbuilding Department Planning Director Kakuji Suzuki Shipbuilding Lieutenant Colonel once again brought up the topic that Yuzuru Hiraga Shipbuilding Major General had just raised.
“Yes! Of course we’ll care, but what is the navy combat power of the Chinese Army like?”
“We all know it at a glance. You know, their naval warship manufacturing technology can’t even compare to our Imperial Navy, and moreover, two months ago they even procured a batch of large-caliber naval guns from us!”
“At that time, we only need to dispatch the Aircraft Carrier Akagi, Kaga Aircraft Carrier, ‘Hosho’ Aircraft Carrier, and ‘Wakamiya Maru’ Aircraft Carrier together for attack operation, carrying more than 100 carrier-based aircraft to assist in combat, and the Chinese Army navy will absolutely be completely annihilated by us!”
“You know, our personally manufactured ‘Hosho’ Aircraft Carrier not only entered the water earlier than the British Army’s ‘Argus’ Aircraft Carrier, but also was the first in the world to manufacture a modern aircraft carrier with a flush deck, so I have no pressure at all in dealing with the backward navy troops of the Chinese Army!”
“Even we only need to dispatch the ‘Hosho’ Aircraft Carrier and ‘Wakamiya Maru’ Aircraft Carrier, carrying dozens of carrier-based aircraft for attack operation, to assist our naval fleet in achieving complete victory!”
Keiji Suzuki Shipbuilding Major General then smiled confidently again without any pressure and responded.
Hearing this, all the navy shipbuilding officers also smiled confidently in the same way.
Because they all have absolute confidence that the fleet and aircraft carriers they manufactured do not need to fear the National Revolutionary Army navy fleet at all, and they also have great confidence that they will achieve victory in the war with overwhelming advantage.
So after discussing the issue of whether their navy would have pressure if the Battle of Shanghai started,
they also shifted their topic back to how to completely circumvent the 《Washington Naval Treaty》 and 《London Naval Treaty》, these two damned treaties, to manufacture their new type of aircraft carrier fleet.
And at the same time,
at this moment,
the excited and thrilled Iwane Matsui and Masao Okamura had already started from the Kwantung Army’s airport, boarding airplanes, preparing to go to Tianjin’s port, board their warships, and return to the Homeland to meet His Majesty.
