Reiwa Chemist Yōko Takatsukasa Reincarnation: Saving Japan with Plastic Material

Prancing Wolf

FUTAE NO KIWAMI! KIWAMIII!

SSH! SHIZUKA NISEI!

- Toshitsugu Utei

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In early October 1914, the combined Russo-Japanese fleet was preparing to exit the Mediterranean and enter the Atlantic Ocean.

"The Imperator Pavel I is hit by a torpedo! She's slowing down!"

Upon hearing the lookout's report, those in the rear turned to see the Russian semi-dreadnought battleship Imperator Pavel I gradually falling behind the fleet and tilting.

"This is the fourth time... submarines are truly terrifying."

"Well, it's common sense when you think about it..."

In response to the mutterings of Vice Admiral Tomosaburō Katō, the commander of the Japanese Expeditionary Fleet to Europe, Rear Admiral Saneyuki Akiyama, his Chief of Staff, made an insensitive comment. Akiyama's peculiar behavior was nothing new, but his exceptional competence compensated for it, so nobody paid it much mind anymore.

"That's true, Akiyama, but our country couldn't do anything like that back then, could it?"

"Unfortunately, that's the case... Even if we came up with a method, we couldn't experiment with it since we didn't have the budget to purchase it. It's really frustrating."

"Moreover, during the Russo-Japanese War, commerce raiding was carried out by cruisers. It was heavily criticized in the parliament, so after the war, our military naturally focused on crushing protected cruisers and amassing ships that could escape from armored cruisers and battleships."

"As a result, what we have now is the Tone-class protected cruiser... They didn't even consider anti-submarine capabilities."

Tone-class protected cruiser

- Displacement : 5.000 tons

- Length : 148 m

- Beam : 14 m

- Powerplant : 16 Kampon I-type fuel oil-fired boilers, 2 Brown Curtiss direct-coupled turbines, 2 shafts

- Maximum power : 23.000 shp

- Maximum speed : 27 knots

- Cruising range : 2.600 nautical miles at 12 knots

- Armament :

-- 6 × single 45 caliber 152 mm guns

- Armor :

-- Deck : 25 mm (horizontal), 51 mm (inclined section)

-- Main gun front : 76 mm

-- Main gun sides : 25 mm

-- Main gun roof : 25 mm

-- Conning tower : 76 mm (thickest part)

"It's impressive that all twelve of the 6-inch guns can be concentrated on one side. The Russian Bogatyr-class has a similar number of guns as the Tone-class, but they can only fire eight on one side. That's a 1,5 times difference in firepower."

"In the Indian Ocean, there was that German protected cruiser Emden causing a ruckus, but it was a walk in the park for the Hirado."

SMS Emden conducted commerce raiding operations in the Indian Ocean, affecting even the insurance premiums of merchant ships. The combined Russo-Japanese fleet, which happened to pass by, dispatched four Tone-class cruisers to eliminate the Emden. As a result, on September 22, 1914, Tone-class protected cruiser Hirado encountered the Emden, which was attempting to attack Madras. They sank the Emden within about 20 minutes of opening fire. The Hirado suffered only minor damage to its superstructure and ship's boats. The four Tone-class cruisers, after refueling and resupplying ammunition, caught up with the combined Russo-Japanese fleet, which had left ahead of them, and eventually met up in Alexandria in the British protectorate of Egypt.

"Even those proud 6-inch guns are of no use against submarines."

"We can't say it too loudly now, but the Russian Pacific Fleet is being rebuilt with surface vessels as their main force, right? We should start by countering that."

Since the Battle of Tsushima never happened in this timeline, Russia remained the hypothetical adversary of the Imperial Japanese Navy. As Russia was reconstructing its fleet with cruisers and battleships, Japan needed to focus on research, development, and shipbuilding to prevent commerce destruction by cruisers and surprise attacks by battleships. This is why they couldn't afford to address submarine threats within their limited budget, allowing the Austro-Hungarian Navy's submarines to thrive.

"The Austro-Hungarian Navy's movements are unsettling, too. While we're both exposing our vulnerabilities, they seem to be exclusively targeting the Russians."

"They probably want to create distrust between us and the Russian Navy. Not to mention, the morale of the crew won't be high when they attack a country we had good relations with before the war."

In fact, since entering the Mediterranean, the coordination with the Russian Pacific Fleet had gradually deteriorated. At that time, there were suspicions within the Pacific Fleet's command that the Japanese Expeditionary Fleet to Europe might be leaking their position to the Central Powers, causing disruptions in decision-making.

"Coordinated firing, submarines, aircraft... We must survive in this rapidly changing battlefield."

"Survival of the fittest, right? Relying too much on past lessons will only leave us behind in the world. But to secure a budget, we have to shine brightly like the men in the Army. Bah, fuck this shit..."

Unlike in OTL, the navy that had weathered the European waters at this moment was gaining invaluable experience. However, to leverage that experience, they still lacked various resources.

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So, in this timeline, SMS Emden didn't cause much havoc and sank without much ado. When a Tier 2 cruiser encounters Tier 4 cruisers, that's pretty much expected...

The IJN realized that relying solely on cruisers wouldn't be enough to protect their ships. However, just realizing this won't solve the problem, especially when it comes to submarines. To secure a budget for anti-submarine weapon development, can the Japanese Expeditionary Fleet to Europe make a difference in the distant waters...?

- Toshitsugu Utei