I Became a Captain of the British Empire

attend a meeting

The cold North Sea wind swept across the deck without hesitation. In the frosty air before my eyes, I stepped onto the deck of the Repulse.

It’s a new feeling, but I definitely feel that I’m on a battleship. Seeing the huge main turret that could be called a fortress.

“It’s really dirty… .”

“yes?”

Oops, a voice came out involuntarily.

Kirk turned his head, puzzled.

“Isn’t that the main gun used on battleships? I wanted to see it up close someday.”

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem strange. Relieved, I rubbed my hands together and grabbed my coat.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a battleship with 15-inch guns up close.”

“Have you ever been on another battleship, Captain?”

It was a voice of pure curiosity. I nodded quietly.

“Princess Royal’s guns were also 13.5” caliber, so it’s one rank lower than Repulse’s main guns.”

It’s not a lie. It’s the sound I spit out based on my synchronized memories. Looking back at the foreign object-like memories that linger in my head, the previous owner of this body has no experience of boarding a ship with a 15-inch caliber gun.

headache comes again It seems that the more synchronized memories are brought up, the more burdensome it is. Is it a defense mechanism to maintain my ego? Then it would be better not to look at it unnecessarily.

I changed the topic while stealing the cold sweat that flowed from my forehead.

“Are you new to large ships?”

“Yes, I worked mainly on destroyers before.”

White breath flowed from his mouth like a sigh as he walked on the boat deck.

a destroyer Most of the destroyers of this era were small ships in the 1 to 2000 ton class. In modern times, even a corvettes? Of course, it is weak against storms and the facilities are poor.

“You must have suffered a lot.”

He quietly patted his shoulder. The boy looked at me in amazement. I guess the original owner wasn’t that kind.

Why am I like that? Well, I’m not a very nice person either, but I just felt sympathetic. Is it because we were in the same military position? Well, doesn’t the position of the bottle say that the bottle knows best?

Standing on the boat deck prepared behind the bridge, I received a salute from the busy sailors.

Standing in such a position, even though the captain’s memories left behind, the heart is not at all familiar. Receiving a salute with a shy face, I quickly moved to the front of the boat.

“Hold tight to the railing of the boat. It might shake a little while going down.”

“Okay.”

Hearing the attention of the shaggy boatswain, he sat down on the cold wooden board. The seats were as hard as rocks, so I couldn’t sit comfortably. It would be nice to have at least one cushion on it.

I turned my head and saw huge main gun turrets lined up in front of the bridge. Even though it’s a little far away, that ignorant size doesn’t seem to have decreased at all.

It is embarrassing to compare it to mortars or 105mm dung guns seen in the military. It is to the point where I doubt whether a cannon of such an ignorant size can exist.

Such an unimaginable scene unfolded vividly before my eyes.

“I’m going down.”

I was distracted by the main turret, but the boatswain cautioned me. Shortly thereafter, the Danjeong moved.

The feeling that your body is floating.

Little by little the boat, hanging from the crane line, was lowered below the deck.

“The front is too fast! Balance it fools! Erai, damn cubs! ”

I turned my head toward the bridge, frowning at the shouts of the boatswain. Even under the cold sky, I quietly held onto the railing of the boat, looking at the gun barrel solemnly raised. A cold wind passed through my hair.

The Scaper Flow at dusk was majestic and chilly, fitting for a nest of gigantic warships.

“Is that ship a Royal Oak?”

“This is Ramillies. The Royal Oaks are anchored in the opposite row.”

“her! They all look the same, but you manage to tell them apart.”

If there’s one thing I noticed while exchanging conversations on the dark surface of the water, it’s that the orderly’s keen eyes really matter. It’s just amazing how you can distinguish battleships that all look the same.

“Each ship opens at different times, so if you look up the Navy Yearbook, you can see the rough differences. For example, aren’t the sister ships of the Queen Elizabeth class slightly different from each other?”

“Well, sure they are different.”

The Queen Elizabeth class, often abbreviated to the QE class, is a British flagship battleship equipped with eight 15-inch guns. Now is the time to start remodeling one by one. Certainly they look different from each other.

The ships that received a lot of remodeling, such as Queen Elizabeth and Warspite, have bridges that look like huge boxes, but the rest of the ships that did not receive such construction use high triangular bridges like Repulse.

Well, at this time, everyone will use the same triangular bridge, so the difference will be minor. If you look at it like that, how does this guy differentiate it? It’s a scary eye.

“It’s really amazing. Then can you see the difference between our Repulse and Renown?”

“If you look closely, you can see it. It’s a very minor difference, of course. In the case of Rinaun, the height of the repair armor belt is slightly higher than that of our ship.”

“How the hell did you know that?”

“It looks rough compared to the eyes. see A little high compared to our boat, isn’t it? And the window on the side remains.”

Just as the boat passed by Renown, Kirk pointed with his finger. I see a bulge protruding on the waterline, and a thick armor plate protruding above it… I honestly don’t know.

“I don’t know. You seem to have good eyesight.”

Kirk shrugged his shoulders with a big smile, and Kirk scratched the back of his head shyly and lowered his head.

Repulse, which I was appointed as captain, was remodeled before Rinaun, and the results were fed back to Renown, so the appearance of the two ships differs slightly from time to time.

However, at this time, both ships are about to return to the frontlines after their first refurbishment. Of course, there will be very little difference.

At the point of distinguishing the two ships, this guy’s power of observation can be said to be truly amazing. Doesn’t that mean comparing the differences one by one in this era without the Internet?

Maybe he’s not an ordinary great guy.

“But how do you tell ships that look exactly the same? Like those R-class battleships over there.”

“Doesn’t each ship have a fixed location? I am looking every day for help.”

“You are diligent. Should I give you a tip?”

“yes? Oh no! I wasn’t really looking for a reward! sorry!”

What is this friend doing?

It was said as a joke, but Kirk waved his hand without hesitation. I couldn’t help but be embarrassed by his demeanor.

It shouldn’t be that surprising…

“no… It just didn’t make any sense.”

“Oh, sorry. that’s me… I wonder if I did something presumptuous.”

Kirk, who shrugged his shoulders and answered, responded in a pitiful voice. I can’t get past this

“Who the hell says that’s over-the-top? If anyone talks like that, let me know.”

This is unforgivable from the standpoint of being once a military officer in the Republic of Korea. I can’t praise the guy who practiced because I thought it would be helpful, but it’s a bruise. How dare you do something like an old mandarin fish to my underling?

When I tried to listen to see if someone had said such an absurd remark, Kirk was staring at me.

… Could it be that I did?

“Im here!”

Before the awkward silence continued, I turned my head at the officer’s voice that came just in time.

Who was the previous owner of this body? It’s just curious in many ways, but I think I should put that thought aside for now.

“HMS Nelson.”

A huge fortress on the sea filled my eyes.

March 4, 1930 at 5pm. Great Britain, Scapa Flow, Atlantic Fleet flagship HMS Nelson

It’s a quiet hallway. Even the chilly atmosphere flowed from the inside of the ship, which was glossy with paint, as if it represented the North Sea in the evening sky.

As befits the position of the Atlantic Fleet gunship, the interior was clean so that not a speck of dust was visible.

I walked through the hallways and looked around restlessly. Kirk was also left under the boat and I went up alone, so no one looked at me. Thanks to this, I was able to see Nelson’s deck and interior while going to the meeting room.

HMS Nelson. A super dreadnought named after a legendary admiral who will go down in British naval history. It is a battleship equipped with 16-inch caliber guns that existed in only 7 ships in the world during the disarmament treaty.

The power of a battleship is guaranteed by the size of its main guns. That is the absolute logic of the giant tycoonism. Therefore, the strategic value of Nelson is enormous.

“Colonel Samuel Lewis, let’s go in.”

As if proving his infinite expectations and trust, he knocked on the door of the meeting room painted with goppon-style lacquer.

Upon opening the door and entering, numerous officers were seated at a long table.

“You are late.”

The general, seated in the front seat, frowned so that his wrinkled face was clearly visible. In front of the intimidation that was difficult to say, he hurriedly raised a salute.

“sorry.”

“Let me sit down quickly. I will start right away.”

There was no need to ask where my seat was. Because there was only one empty seat. Still, because he is the captain of a capital ship, he is closer to the upper seat than I thought.

As I pulled out the chair and sat down, I was concerned about the eyes of the officers sitting around me. The officer sitting close to me in the seat of honor across from me gave me a disapproving look.

why are you like that kinda feel bad

“Have you met any girls?”

The officer sitting next to him whispered mockingly.

Well-groomed all-back hair and slender features. I think I will remember. I barely remembered the name…

“Cecile P Talbert.”

“oh? He doesn’t seem to be drinking, as he remembers his name.”

“Jokes are no fun.”

Before I could think of an answer, the words naturally came out first. It’s not something I should say. Is it the habit of the original owner of the body?

Anyway, I don’t think the photo would have any strange suspicions.

“We will start the meeting.”

When the general in the seat of honor opened his mouth, all the officers focused their attention. The general nodded and continued, as if he was satisfied with his appearance in perfect order.

“As you all know, it has been five years since the United States withdrew from the treaty.”

It was hard to make eye contact with him as he looked around the conference room with his head slightly lowered, like a seasoned beast.

A charisma that evokes some instinctive fear.

“Since those rude Yankees resumed naval warships, they now have a total of 7 battleships with 16-inch guns. Including those scheduled for commissioning, there are a total of 11 ships. Even including the Invincible class, the number is close to twice that of our navy.”

Invisible moans erupted from all over the conference room. unpleasant face. A look of shaking his head. It is a negative reaction that is difficult to see in the British Empire’s navy.

Anyway, important information came in. Did the US withdraw from the treaty? It’s something I’ve just skimmed through in a history book, but I think I need to look a little deeper.

“Two South Dakota-class battleships, the pride of those guys, crossed the Panama Canal and entered the Atlantic Ocean last week. Anyone but an idiot knows what this means, right?”

South Dakota-class battleships!

is it. It seems that this world has proceeded with the construction of the paper plan battleships that the United States canceled. Even if it’s a bit late.

Any planned South Dakota I know of would be a more powerful battleship than the Nelson class, with twelve 16-inch guns and a speed of 23 knots. If so, it would be a formidable enemy that would be difficult for the British Navy to deal with.

But why is there such a gloomy response? It’s not a German or Japanese battleship, so at least it won’t be someone you’re going to cross swords with right away.

The reason was immediately clear.

“According to our intelligence, they will declare war in at least a week. Well, as everyone expected.”

The admiral said in a very plain voice. Some click their tongues, others calmly bow their heads. As if everyone knew. At least, no one was expecting his announcement.

thud-

Except for one person.

“Colonel Lewis?”

The loud noise drew attention to me. Knees on the desk screamed in pain.

But that’s not what’s important.

“It’s like a damn worldview… .”

Looks like the world is about to collapse

that too properly.