Germany, Wilhelmshaven.
Three months ago, when Zhang Hainuo was evacuated as a severely wounded soldier, he hadn't had the chance to take a good look at Wilhelmshaven, one of Germany's two major naval bases, alongside Kiel. Now, various vehicles carrying supplies were bustling on the dock, sailors were busy with their tasks, and the most eye-catching sights were the battleships docked at the berths: the Kaiser-class, Caesar-class, Helgoland-class, and Nassau-class battleships, along with several battlecruisers. These were the cream of the German Navy. Against the backdrop of these behemoths, the numerous cruisers and destroyers appeared diminutive, while the patrol boats frequenting the harbor seemed hardly worth mentioning.
Finally, the car stopped at a pier where a large battleship was docked, and from afar, Zhang Hainuo spotted Edwin standing there.
"Hey, Hainuo, my brother, you're finally back!"
"Hey, Edwin!"
Putting down his luggage, Zhang Hainuo hugged Edwin warmly—they were almost the same height, but Edwin appeared slightly stronger.
"You've come back at the right time!" Edwin picked up his luggage and stepped aside, gesturing towards the battleship docked at the pier. "Look! That's our Seydlitz!"
Before Zhang Hainuo stood a massive warship, with armored decks towering almost a floor above the pier, and bridge and two chimneys resembling giants standing tall. The freshly painted hull bore little sign of past battles, with new turrets replacing the damaged ones, and long gun barrels proudly pointing into the distance.
Zhang Hainuo remembered seeing this ship for the first time, battered and worn, almost unable to bear its own weight, but in the past hundred days, it had regained its former glory. Was it the greatness of German shipbuilders and workers, or the formidable resilience of the ship itself?
"It came out of the dry dock just ten days ago, and it's still undergoing final repairs and assembly, but at least we can return to our cabins now! You have no idea, the sailors' quarters we stayed in for the past three months were so old and dilapidated, it was terrible!" Edwin, acting as the host, led Zhang Hainuo towards the ship's side, and upon boarding, many unfamiliar faces greeted him warmly.
"Weid Frechel, the great gunner, has been promoted to gunnery officer of turret number 3!"
"Rathe Miller, lost an arm, but recovered quickly and is still working in the chart room!"
"Oh, Rite Liman, look, he's been promoted to Navy Captain! Our new chief engineer!"
Although Edwin was introducing the colleagues' recent situations to Zhang Hainuo, only the two of them knew that Zhang Hainuo couldn't recognize these people anymore, and to avoid being exposed later in their work life, they had to reintroduce themselves in this manner.
Finally returning to his own room, Zhang Hainuo felt a sigh of relief. Remembering so many names and faces at once was quite challenging.
"How's it?" After stowing the luggage under the bunk, Edwin sat down on the only chair in the cabin, watching Zhang Hainuo curiously examining their surroundings.
"Hmm? You mean this room? It's small, but not bad!" Zhang Hainuo placed his backpack beside the bunk and sat down on the semi-high bed.
"You've been living here for over two years, and you don't remember?" Edwin remarked, not finding it strange.
Zhang Hainuo shrugged. "I barely have any recollection, but I think I'll adapt quickly. At least my memory is still good!"
"Your memory has always been great!" It wasn't clear whether Edwin was praising or implying something else as he tapped the luggage box lightly. "These are the books I arranged for you, right? Have you understood and remembered everything?"
"More or less, but I lack practical experience!" Zhang Hainuo replied honestly.
"That's alright. After lunch, I'll take you to the torpedo room. Oh, by the way, you used to be in charge of torpedo room number 1, but now you've been promoted to the torpedo commander of the entire ship!" Edwin casually dropped this piece of information, making Zhang Hainuo feel a bit nervous. Promotion meant higher status, more opportunities, and more allowances, but he wasn't fully prepared for it yet.
"The torpedo commander of the entire ship? I'm afraid I'm not capable of it in my current condition. What about the previous commander?" Zhang Hainuo inquired.
"You mean Lieutenant Norbert Schütze? He transferred to the 7th Torpedo Boat Flotilla. It's said that half of the ships in that flotilla were lost, so they received many new vessels and personnel!"
"Oh! What about our new captain, General von Laurentz?"
"Your uncle? He seems to have gone to a meeting at the Naval Operations Department today. I heard they still aren't planning to send the fleet into battle. During this time, the Seydlitz, Moltke, and Derfflinger haven't moved from their positions. I guess even if the Seydlitz is fully repaired, it won't have any combat missions!" Edwin's tone was somewhat resigned. After the Battle of Dogger Bank and the Battle of Jutland, the German High Command was reluctant to risk these valuable ships again.
Zhang Hainuo fell silent. Actually, when he was still in the convalescent hospital, he had been eager to change this situation in the German Navy through his own efforts. Otherwise, these battleships would not escape the "historical fate" of sinking themselves in the Pas de Calais, including the supposedly unsinkable Seydlitz.
After Zhang Hainuo had rested for a while, Edwin took him up to the deck for a stroll. The forward deck, without being loaded with fuel and various ammunition, stood 5 to 6 meters above the sea. Standing there, one would feel as if towering above the mundane world. The towering and formidable 280-millimeter naval guns, almost twice the height of an average person, instilled a sense of confidence and pride. Zhang Hainuo thought that this might be the primary reason why people were so enthusiastic about battleships and big guns!
The S.M.S. Seydlitz, from bow to stern, was precisely 200 meters long. An adult could run this distance in half a minute, but it took Zhang Hainuo and Edwin three to four minutes to move from the forward deck to the aft deck. The decks of this battleship were not entirely traversable, and the aft deck was a whole level lower than the forward deck.
Arriving at the relatively spacious aft deck, Zhang Hainuo suddenly remembered that during World War II, many naval forces liked to carry several seaplanes on their capital ships. If the two main gun turrets here were raised, the remaining space would be sufficient to accommodate two seaplanes. The sides of the ship could also be used to store aircraft or install makeshift catapults. If radios were installed on the planes, the reconnaissance capabilities of the entire fleet would be greatly enhanced.
During the Battle of Jutland, if the German High Seas Fleet had even one seaplane onboard capable of conducting reconnaissance missions, they would have had a chance to avoid the main British fleet and wouldn't have faced such dire circumstances as in the actual battle.
Thinking about this, Zhang Hainuo couldn't wait to return to his cabin and write down all his ideas. However, to ensure the feasibility of these plans, he asked Edwin about the current use of aircraft in the German Navy.
"Aircraft and airships? Oh, of course, we have them! See those big houses up on the hill? That's the Zeppelin hangar. There are a total of ten airships near Wilhelmshaven, usually used for port surveillance tasks, unlike the army airships that fly to England to drop bombs! As for aircraft, we have a flight school in Lüstlingen, with some instructors and a few Halberstadt reconnaissance planes. But those are land-based aircraft that take off with wheels!"
"No seaplanes?" Zhang Hainuo was somewhat surprised. Considering the aircraft technology levels during World War I, Germany was slightly superior to France and Britain, albeit in lesser numbers. If the German Navy didn't equip seaplanes, it must have been due to ideological reasons rather than technological limitations.
Although Edwin didn't know why his "amnesiac" friend suddenly asked about this, he still tried hard to recall: "As far as I know, there aren't any! Air defense tasks near Wilhelmshaven are usually carried out jointly by ground artillery and the army's fighter squadrons. The army has two airfields near Norden and Bremen Harbor, but I don't know how many planes they have!"
It seemed convincing those conservative-minded naval officers wouldn't be easy, Zhang Hainuo thought. Fortunately, "Father of the German Navy" Admiral von Tirpitz was probably a more enlightened person. He single-handedly built the powerful German High Seas Fleet and, despite the British Navy's superiority, became the advocate and organizer of unrestricted submarine warfare. If he could get a chance to meet von Tirpitz or present his plans to him, his chances of success would be much higher.
After lunch, Edwin led Zhang Hainuo to tour the four torpedo rooms, allowing him to reacquaint himself with his subordinates. Aside from No. 4 torpedo room, which had been replenished with a large number of new recruits due to the complete loss of all personnel in the Battle of Jutland, the other three torpedo rooms were still mainly staffed by the old sailors.
Seeing the friendly and respectful gazes of his subordinates, Zhang Hainuo felt much reassured.
Next, Zhang Hainuo practiced the theoretical knowledge he had learned from books in the torpedo rooms under the pretext of equipment inspection, while Edwin patiently accompanied him, occasionally offering guidance in a low voice. This was the first time in Zhang Hainuo's life that he had truly come into contact with torpedo equipment and the sleek, icy-cold torpedoes. It took nearly two hours for Zhang Hainuo to go through everything related to torpedoes: storage, assembly, setting depth, adjusting firing angles, and launch procedures. It was much more complex than his experiences with submarine hunting in the past.
Fortunately, the arduous two-month crash course wasn't in vain. With Edwin's practical guidance, Zhang Hainuo now had the confidence to independently command the entire torpedo firing process. Moreover, Edwin quietly informed him that as a torpedo commander, he usually wouldn't need to do the physical work himself. Instead, he would supervise the sailors in completing the tasks assigned by their superiors. Additionally, he would be responsible for arranging their duty shifts and leave, conducting their regular training, and, when necessary, soothing their emotions and adjusting their psychological states.
As dinner time approached, a military officer came to the torpedo room and informed Zhang Hainuo that the captain wanted to see him. Naturally, Zhang Hainuo welcomed this. This person wasn't just his "uncle-in-law"; he was also the first person Zhang Hainuo needed to persuade as part of his comprehensive plan.