I Became a Captain of the British Empire

Our pasta can’t be this strong

Shortly after leaving the meeting room, I received a message from Kirk.

“what’s the matter?”

“Admiral, there is someone waiting for you.”

“Who are you?”

“He’s from the Navy Headquarters.”

Is there anyone left to send? After all, the more talented people, the better. I really feel like Jojo.

I entered the drawing room with a heart full of anticipation of who it would be this time.

“and! Long time no see!”

… I see a familiar face

It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, but I didn’t bother pointing it out.

“Why are you here again?”

To K, who smiled with an innocent face, I deliberately spoke in a brusque voice. She stood up from the parlor chair and tilted her head before asking.

“Didn’t you say you needed to share information?”

“Who is it?”

“The Secretary of the Navy.”

My head was pounding.

Then it is. There’s no way that fat, tight-fisted man handed over talent with his bare mouth.

Of course, cooperation with the Ministry of Information is important in military strategy, but it is necessary to be able to know the minister’s intentions. It’s true that it’s very embarrassing.

“I asked for your cooperation, but if you want to, you have to.”

Make sure to read from noble mtl dot com

Perhaps it was what she wanted, too, the annoyance emanated from her expression. Of course, it wasn’t long before it was erased with a sinister smile.

K opened his mouth with a relaxed face.

“I have good news for you.”

“Will you start with the bad news?”

Stopping, K. opens his eyes wide in surprise.

“How did you know there was bad news too?”

“When we talk like this, there are always bad things mixed in.”

It doesn’t look like things will go smoothly. That’s why they sent a busy agent all the way here.

I sighed and waited for the next sad news. As expected, she shrugged and spoke lightly.

“The French Mediterranean Fleet is preparing to depart.”

I knew it.

* * *

London Naval Headquarters.

An emergency meeting prepared for news of the sortie of the French Navy.

Even as the 1st Navy Police entered, I looked at the four people gathered in turn and said,

“So, are you saying our fleet needs an urgent sortie?”

“It’s Task Force Z, Major General Lewis.”

Home Fleet Commander Admiral Kelly pointed out, not missing what he said deliberately. I frowned to look as embarrassing as possible.

“Now I’m going to tell you something, but… Can you change the unit identification symbol?”

“Don’t you like Z?”

Admiral Field, 1st Navy Police raises his eyebrows suspiciously. Well, these people don’t know.

But i know The legend contained in that sign… … .

“It’s already prepared as a memorandum, so it’s a little bit different. Well, if that’s the case, I’ll think about it.”

“… no. Let’s just go.”

Yeah, it must be because of the mood. Could it be that land attack aircraft with a cruising range of over 1,000 km are coming in droves from Italy?

… Oh, I’m afraid it’s really going to be like that.

“Anyway, we need to get ready quickly. Repulse’s test voyage schedule has also been moved up, so I hope it goes without a hitch.”

Looking into my eyes, the 1st Naval Police spoke stubbornly.

Still, isn’t this too reckless?

“But Admiral, we haven’t even had a joint maneuver exercise. Repulse and Furious are okay, but Indipatigable is different.”

It wasn’t in the mood to block comments, so I caught my breath for a while and continued.

“You know very well that there are more than one or two things that need to be adjusted, from propeller rotation to fleet communications, right?”

“I know. But isn’t it your job to do something about it?”

pestilence. want to go home. No, I want to go back to Repulse.

Anyway, things got busy.

It’s no surprise that the French leadership is preparing for the underwear run. If you look at the actual speed of German advance, the faster the better. Time is always tight.

“I think we should move up the schedule a bit.”

The person who spoke this time was the head of the intelligence department, who seems to be K’s superior.

Then, K quickly handed over the file to our admirals sitting around the conference room.

“Perhaps this sortie is the departure of an escort fleet with the transport of the leadership in mind. The reported strength is at least 2 battleships, 4 cruisers and 12 destroyers.”

Breton-class Provence and Courbet-class battleships shown in a black and white photo. It’s outdated, but the numbers are still pretty good.

In particular, three Courbet-class ships are still active. The Provence is a super dreadnought with a diameter of only 34 cm, that is, 13.4 inches. In fact, it can be seen as the last main force of France.

“The transport ship carrying the Napoleon VI family will be moving soon. A full-fledged transport fleet that contains not only the head, but also important items classified as top secret.”

At the words of the head of the intelligence department, the three admirals, including me, all looked serious at once.

The reason why I don’t use flights is probably because of the low weight. Are you trying to get some gold bars?

“But is there any reason why the imperial family would go so far without leaving the flight?”

“They know us as idiots.”

Admiral Fields said so without filtering out his displeasure.

Admiral Kelly also coughs up an uncomfortable cough.

“Currently there are only two heavy cruisers and four destroyers stationed in Gibraltar.”

The 1st Navy Police spoke in a tired voice and eventually handed over two black-and-white photos and documents.

A cruiser with two twin main gun turrets placed aft and aft. There are three chimneys in a row.

“It is a new ship.”

“It’s much better than old fashioned stuff like the Hawkins class.”

Admiral Kelly adds:

As the saying goes, it was a much more sophisticated appearance than the Hawkins class armed with single guns.

Heavy cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire.

Both are state-of-the-art county-class heavy cruisers.

The main gun was also equipped with 8 heavy guns of 203 mm in terms of 8 inches and millimeters.

A ship with overwhelming performance compared to the Hawkins class equipped with seven 7.5-inch guns. It seems that the situation on the Mediterranean side became urgent, so I was stationed in Gibraltar.

After all, our size is overwhelming on the Canadian front. It’s not urgent to have one or two ships in the middle.

Admiral Fields sighed before he had time to be delighted with the state-of-the-art ship.

“I dispatched the Thunderer and Conqueror of our Strait Fleet, but it is difficult to defend myself with this worn-out battleship.”

“They are also on the verge of returning to the mainland for the landing operation.”

This time K opened his mouth.

For some reason, I expressed my doubts to her who was sitting quietly like an aide.

“No support from the German fleet?”

Originally, most of the fire support before the landing would have been decided by the German Great Sea Fleet. No matter how much power they send to blockade the French coast, aren’t they just two large battlecruisers?

However, K just shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t know.

“You seem to be busy as you are. Preparing for the amphibious assault, reinforcements in the Caribbean, naval blockade, and more… … .”

“Above all, now I can’t help but care about the Baltic.”

Admiral Kelly intervened in the conversation with pods in both hands.

The dark circles on his face were emaciated, suggesting that he had suffered from working overtime.

“The Soviet Baltic Fleet has come out to the North Sea. It’s a normal training, but the problem is that it’s quite large.”

Saying that, he pursed his lips as if he was hungry for a cigarette.

I must be tired. This is pretty serious news.

“It’s a fleet that includes only two battleships. Thanks to that, Kaiser seems to have a fire in his feet too.”

“… Enemies on all sides.”

It’s a really great war now. In future generations, perhaps this will be remembered as World War II. The news of the Second Coming of the Great War had already been heard since France entered the war, but… … It’s just bittersweet.

“Anyway, even if the French guys proudly pack up and go, we don’t have enough strength to stop them.”

“That would be what the son of Napoleon thought, too. Even if you leisurely pack your things and go out, there will be no stopping you.”

“Because Italy has also promised to help.”

Admiral Field gritted his teeth as if indignant. In a way, they are ignoring us with their actions, so it’s understandable. The Pride of the Royal Navy fell to the ground.

“So Louis, you better kick that arrogant ass.”

A glance moved to me.

The 1st Navy Police put me in his resolute eyes.

“It doesn’t matter if you drown them whole. I will definitely make you pay for your arrogance.”

Facing the burning gaze, I could only nod my head.

* * *

“Even if you say so… Numbers are also lacking.”

After the meeting, I writhed in the archives of the Navy Headquarters. Climbing up the ladder and rummaging through the study, K said, crossing his arms.

“There won’t be any more material to find there, right?”

“You mean this is all?”

“There are mountains of what you’ve found so far, what more are you looking for?”

K. knocking on a stack of papers already piled up.

Looking at it with a confused face, I sighed and sat down.

Most of the papers scattered on the desk are intelligence documents that inform the current situation of the French and Italian fleets.

“Italy is more of a problem than the French Navy.”

I grabbed a sheet from the pile of papers and looked at the rough drawing. Two twin guns front and rear. The bridge looks like a modern extension.

“A Francesco Caracciolo class.”

After the United States withdrew from the Washington Treaty in 1925, it is a new battleship mass-produced by Italy like lightning. As many as four ships were built, and these guys have maintained their power so far.

I don’t know if it’s better than Lyon. This guy has more speed and firepower.

K, who peeked his head from the side, said.

“It’s a warship equipped with a 15-inch gun. Isn’t this similar to our battleship?”

“No, strictly speaking, stronger.”

I firmly shook my head.

It’s a law that has to be acknowledged. Compared to our battleships, which could not even increase the angle of elevation due to old-style shells, the new ones are bound to be stronger.

The specifications identified by the Ministry of Information are eight 15-inch guns with a displacement of 35,000 tons, and a speed of more than 25 knots.

It’s roughly the same as what I know. Except it’s slow.

“This isn’t 25 knots.”

“How do you know?”

“If you look at it, you get an estimate. It’s only about the size of the engine room.”

“Can you tell that by looking at it?”

K. tilting his head.

I handed over the papers without any answer.

I evasively said that I knew it when I saw the size, but of course I was quoting information from posterity. I remember that the guy who was actually a paper plan was a high-speed battleship with a maximum speed of 28 knots or more.

The number of main guns is 8, which is one number lower than that of the Lyon class. But a battleship’s firepower comes from its caliber. If four ships attack at the same time, even the Inpatible can’t be caught off guard.

… Come to think of it, the other two Lyon-class ships also managed to get close. The more you know, the more anxious you become.

“I have to find a way. Are all these four ships coming as reinforcements?”

“Well, looking at the situation there, I think there is a possibility.”

“Are you coming? You’re not coming?”

“I wasn’t dispatched to the field, so I don’t know.”

Shrugging his shoulders curtly, K.

In a huff, the words jumped out without passing through the head.

“Damn it, if it doesn’t help, please stay still!”

“He said he wanted help analyzing the information.”

Somehow he made a loud noise, but K didn’t think it was a big deal. Feeling embarrassed, I just shook my head and turned my eyes to the papers.

Damn, not having friends is my fault. Not a single familiar face in this vast naval headquarters… … No, is it normal to be like this? But the original me is not like this!

Either way, reality doesn’t change. I was the only one who frowned while walking to and from the archives.

It was a time when I let out a sigh of relief because of my miserable connections.

“uh? Aren’t you Samuel Lewis?”

A familiar voice.

I suddenly raised my head.

“long time no see. Captain Repulse. No, he’s an admiral now. Excuse me.”

“… French?”

A middle-aged officer with a smile on his face.

Hood’s captain, Wilfred F. French.