April 22, 1942, today is the 72nd anniversary of the birth of Comrade Lenin, a famous Marxist, proletarian revolutionary, politician, theorist, thinker, and the great leader of the late Soviet people.

Like in previous years, the Soviet Party and government will hold various memorials and memorials for their deceased great leaders, while the working people of all walks of life in the Soviet Union will present their latest and most successful labor results when this day comes and presents gifts to the deceased great leaders.

What's different this year is that the commemoration of Comrade Lenin's birth is not only unprecedentedly large in scale, but also has a bit of gunpowder.

First, the Soviet Bolshevik Party gave Comrade Lenin a great pioneer of the world revolution that had not been seen in the past.

All those who know about Soviet political life know that this is not a casual title!

The world revolution means that the proletariat in the world will unite, use violence to overthrow the bourgeoisie, and establish proletarian politics around the world!

The Soviet Union has been focusing on building a country's socialism, world revolution and so on for the past decade... That's why the Trotskyists were talking all day long and bewitching people's hearts. At least in the Soviet Union, there is very little content about world revolution in the official Soviet public opinion.

But this time, with the birthday of Lenin, the words of world revolution almost appeared in the Soviet newspapers and magazines.

Moreover, this year is the end of the third five-year plan of the Soviet Union. Unlike the previous two five-year plans, which focus on basics and heavy industry, the focus of the third five-year plan is national defense and military industry, which is to prepare for the future world revolution.

According to the plan, the Soviet Union would vigorously develop the three major industries of aviation, shipbuilding and machinery within the five years from 1938 to 1942.

Among them, the aviation industry mainly serves the Red Air Force, and built a large-scale aviation industry base along the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. In 1938, the total aircraft production doubled compared with 1937, reaching 7,500, ranking first in the world. By the year when the World War broke out in 1939, the Soviet Union's aircraft production was as high as 10,000, and since then, it has steadily increased year by year, always ranking first or second in the world. In addition, it has made great progress in technology, with a series of fighter jets and bombers of the world's advanced level, such as MiG3, La***e8, MiG5, Jacques 7 and Il2, thus greatly enhancing the strength of the Red Air Force.

The key service targets of the mechanical industry are the mechanized troops of the Soviet Red Army. In the 35th Plan, the Soviet machinery industry not only took out tank vehicles with excellent performance such as BT-7, T-34 tanks, KV-1, and KV-2, but also built large-scale tank production bases, so that the Soviet Union's tank production far exceeded the total of European countries under the leadership of Germany, and was comparable to the tank production of the United States, which was fully prepared for war.

The shipbuilding industry, which has always been a shortcoming of the Soviet Union's industrial industry, also achieved remarkable achievements in the third five-year plan. On this special day on April 22, 1942, the Soviet shipbuilding industry brought out the most important achievements they achieved through hard work for many years of hard work!

Next to the dock of the Orchonikize Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad City named after Lenin, a steel giant beast with a total length of 269.4 meters, a maximum width of 38.9 meters, a full draft of 10.4 meters, and three triple caliber main guns are showing their mighty body to the leaders of the Soviet Party and the country who came to visit. It is the Soviet battleship, with a standard displacement of 59,150 tons and a full displacement of 65,150 tons. It is known as the second most powerful battleship in the world!

"Comrade General Secretary, according to your instructions, the First Central Special Hull Design Bureau, the Fourth Design Bureau of the Baltic Factory, and the Orchonikize Baltic Shipyard, and the comrades of the Orchonikize Baltic Shipyard have finally mentioned that they had completed the design and construction of the USS Soviet battleship in one year."

On the bow deck of the USSR battleship, Kuznetsov, the People's Committee Member and Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Red Navy, said to Stalin with a proud tone: "Our USSR battleship is currently the second largest battleship in the world, second only to the 80,000-ton battleship of the Japanese, and the largest battleship in Europe. Even the Hindenburg class in Germany cannot be compared with us."

What cannot be compared is the tonnage, which is not as good as the Hindenburg class compared to the protection capability of the Soviet class. The thickness of the two side main armor belts is similar, and the thickness of the deck armor is not as good as that of the Soviet class. However, the quality of German armored steel is much better than that of the Soviet class, and the Hindenburg class also has an additional dome protection system, and the underwater protection is also better than that of the Soviet Union.

As for the main gun, the firepower of the Soviet class is stronger, because the main guns of the Soviet class and Hindenburg class are exactly the same, both 52 times the caliber SK/34 guns with insufficient power. These cannons were exported to the Soviet Union when the Soviet-German relationship was good (Germany had to pay the price for so many Soviet resources, and the Soviet Union, which could not have been built, is now the price for Germany). The Soviet Union had 9 cannons, one more than the Hindenburg class, and of course the firepower was stronger. However, the Soviet class did not have a fire control radar, and the optical sight was not as good as Germany's. If they really wanted to fight on the battlefield, they would probably not be able to take advantage of the Hindenburg class.

However, the power of the Soviet class is really more powerful than the Hindenburg class. The Hindenburg class's power system is like the Bismarck class, with 12-seat boilers and 3-seat steam turbines. The Soviet class has 16-seat boilers and 4-seat steam turbines, which are also imported from Germany. The brand and model are the same as those used by the Bismarck class. Therefore, the output horsepower is one-third larger than that of the Bismarck class, exceeding 200,000 horses. However, due to the hull line type, the maximum speed of the Soviet class can only reach 28.5 knots, which is not much faster than the Hindenburg class.

But in any case, it is a huge improvement to be able to reach this level as the first level of the Soviet Union (which was helped by Germany and Italy during the construction process).

In a straight green uniform, Stalin nodded with satisfaction: "It's great. It's a great achievement to build the Soviet Union one year ahead of schedule (it's also part of the plan, and the battleships that started construction in 38 will not be completed in 43 years). However, this is not enough. The Soviet shipbuilders should continue to work hard and build the other three Soviet-class and two Kronstadt-class battlecruisers as soon as possible. As long as there are 4 Soviet-class battleships and 2 Kronstadt-class battlecruisers, the Soviet state will be fearless, both at sea and on land."

Soviet-class battleships and Kronstadt-class battlecruisers are the most important projects of the Soviet shipbuilding industry in its third five-year plan. The Kronstadt-class battlecruiser No. 1 was also started at the Baltic Shipyard of Orchonnikize in Leningrad. This large battleship with a standard displacement of 32,700 tons and a full load displacement of 40,835 tons uses the same power system as the Soviet-class, so the maximum speed can reach 32-34 knots.

The layout of the main gun system is the same as that of the German Barbarossa class. It uses three double turrets, and the 6/52-caliber sk/34 guns used are also imported from Germany, the same as the Bismarck-class main gun.

"Report to Comrade General Secretary, the Soviet-class ship No. 2 is now outfitted in Factory 190 (a. Marty Shipyard) and will be completed next month. The Kronstadt battlecruiser is outfitted in Factory 189 (Orchonnie Kize Baltic Shipyard)."

Kuznetsov raised his arm and pointed to another dock about 3,000 meters away. He saw only a large warship that had basically been completed was lying there, as if a giant beast was waiting to attack.

"What about the other two Soviet-class and Kronstadt-class battlecruisers?"

"They are all built at the 402 factory in Molotovsk (Northern Shipyard)," Kuznetsov said. "Because the 402 factory is a new factory, it is not experienced and the project is slow, and it may not be completed until early 1943."

Because Ukraine on the right bank once belonged to Poland, the Soviet Union in this time and space did not have three major shipbuilding centers, and there was a Nikolayev shipbuilding center missing. However, the construction of the northern shipyard was advanced. The construction of 402 plants was completed at the end of the second five-year plan, so the construction of two Soviet-class and one Kronstadt class started in Molotovsk (Northodvinsk).

However, the construction of these three large surface ships by the Northern Factory 402 is beneficial to the Soviet Red Navy. Because the Mediterranean is now completely controlled by the European Community Navy, once the war begins, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet cannot leave the Black Sea at all, and it is not even considered a fleet. However, the Soviet Northern Fleet has great potential and can attack the North Atlantic and fight with the German Navy.

According to the "Great Thunderstorm Plan" formulated by the Soviet People's Defense Ministry and the General Staff of the Red Army, before the Soviet Red Army launched an attack, the main ships of the Baltic Fleet would go to Molotovsk in batches to meet with the Northern Fleet.

After the war broke out, they would wait for an opportunity to attack from Molotovsk and confront the European Combined Fleet with the British and American Navy to seize the North Atlantic maritime power.

However, when he thought of the current strength of the European Combined Fleet led by Germany, Stalin couldn't help but frown. He was not worried about the land affairs. The Red Army had strong armored troops and air force, and it was very certain to start when Germany attacked the British mainland. Even if he could not directly attack Berlin, he could at least severely damage the German army and recover the Baltic region, Western Ukraine and Poland.

The sea was the most confident. The combined naval strength of Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union could completely overwhelm Germany, Italy and France, but now... the sea has become the most uncertain place. This is also the main reason why Comrade Stalin chose to celebrate his birthday in Lenin and visit the shipyard in Leningrad. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!