Time Slip Reiwa Japan

117 - China Upheaval - 27

The United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet (Second Fleet) was experiencing gloomy days. The land forces in Eurasia had been notably active since the end of the winter ceasefire period, and the Far Eastern Fleet (Fifth Fleet), which had been raging as if to avenge last year's humiliation, posed a significant threat. The Second Fleet had been persistently failing to track the movements of the merchant raider Zheng He.

Fortunately, there had been no incidents of American-flagged vessels being damaged or disappearing in the Atlantic, Indian, or Pacific Oceans, so the situation hadn't escalated to the point of holding the Second Fleet Commander responsible. However, those involved with the Second Fleet couldn't remain calm. Therefore, the Second Fleet, in a fervor that disregarded training, rest, and even maintenance schedules, unleashed its active ships into the Atlantic Ocean in a desperate search for the Zheng He.

The US Department of State had also been lobbying not only G4 nations but also members of the League of Nations for cooperation in the search efforts. However, the Zheng He and even a trace of its shadow could not be found. At least, not in the fiscal year 1942.

. . .

Reconnaissance Cruiser Milwaukee

As 1942 drew to a close, the Commander of the Second Fleet was faced with a significant demand to transfer all of his carriers to the Fifth Fleet. The objective was to concentrate aircraft carriers in the Fifth Fleet and establish an aircraft carrier strike force.

This wasn't a far-fetched idea. The concept of concentrated use of aircraft carriers had been conceived through the USFJ for efficient aircraft carrier operations (lessons learned from the Pacific War). The reason it hadn't been implemented before was that the US's hypothetical enemies — whether China or Germany — had weak navies. The emphasis had been on the wide-area reconnaissance capability of dispersedly deployed aircraft carriers rather than the overwhelming striking power of concentratedly operated aircraft carriers. Not even aircraft carriers, not to mention battleships or heavy cruisers, were adequately possessed; in other words, they were insufficient for potential adversaries. *1

However, the outcome of the aerial battles around Beijing revealed a change. Although there were no enemies in the naval forces, it turned out to be different on land. Especially in offensive situations or when striking important enemy defense points head-on, aircraft carriers were deemed necessary to be concentrated — this was the judgment of the senior leadership of the US Navy.

Nevertheless, from the perspective of the Second Fleet, this was unacceptable. This was because the wide-area reconnaissance capability of aircraft, taken away in one fell swoop, would be lost. While cruisers and such retained seaplanes, the time-consuming process of recovery to the mothership and the considerable constraint of sea conditions (sea state) meant that the wide-area reconnaissance capability of seaplanes at sea was inferior to carrier-based aircraft, which was the reality. Therefore, the Second Fleet Commander demanded the early deployment of replacement ships such as the patrol cruiser Milwaukee. *2

Although not yet commissioned, the Milwaukee had completed her fitting-out and was in the midst of final equipment testing. It was decided that the Milwaukee would be incorporated into the Second Fleet as a test unit for the evaluation of the F/VP-1 patrol fighter, *3 an early production type, under the guise of on-site testing. This was more out of spite from the Second Fleet headquarters than an urgency of the situation.

Despite various circumstances, the Milwaukee, deployed in the North Atlantic, was generally welcomed by the Second Fleet on-site. The surveillance means of the Second Fleet, overshadowed by the aircraft carrier, was mainly borne by light cruisers, particularly the severely outdated Omaha-class, due to their balance of speed and endurance. This wasn't because the Second Fleet was neglected in particular.