ps: I have something to do today, I'm late to update, sorry...

The Washington command center was filled with miserable clouds and everyone lowered their heads, not knowing what to do later: early in the morning, they received bad news that the Puerto Rican air base was jointly destroyed by bombs and artillery shells. This was the second time Puerto Rico had suffered a devastating blow.

"Gentlemen, we should be grateful that the enemy did not try to land in Puerto Rico..." Roosevelt racked his brains to relieve the pressure on these senior generals, "If they gain a foothold in the Caribbean, we will never have peace."

Marshall barely squeezed out a smile that was even worse than crying.

"Other good news is that the main force of the battleship formation of Admiral Ingersoll has retreated to safety. They will go to the Gulf of Mexico to temporarily anchor and then return to the East Coast." Li Hai continued to add, "It is finally a blessing in disgrace. We have lost the aircraft carrier formation, but at least the essence of the battleship units has been retained."

Secretary of State Hull interjected: "Prime Minister Churchill sent an inquiry telegram for this, and was deeply shocked by the loss of the battle and the situation. He is under great pressure at present. There are constant calls for peaceful negotiations with Germany in the country, but he expressed his willingness to continue fighting with the Nazis."

"When it comes to aircraft carriers, after the sinking of the Glory, did the Royal Navy not have a fleet aircraft carrier?" Roosevelt asked.

Admiral Kim replied: "We urgently contacted the British side and learned that they also had a fleet aircraft carrier Unicorn, which had just been completed a few days ago."

The Unicorn was originally a maintenance aircraft carrier in the Royal Navy. Although the appearance was exactly the same as the fleet aircraft carrier, the hangar was originally designed as a maintenance workshop, and the speed was relatively slow, with a maximum of 24 knots. However, because Britain lost several aircraft carriers during the Indian Ocean Naval Battle, the Royal Navy, which was in a hurry to seek medical treatment, built the Unicorn into a real aircraft carrier. On the basis of the determination of the general structure of the hull, the construction was completed on the basis of a month and a half delayed from the original time by strengthening power, modifying the structure and other means.

The modified Unicorn has a displacement of more than 170,000 tons, and its armor defense level is not as good as that of the Glory. However, after being tied through the deck, the maximum number of aircraft can reach 66, which is much larger than that of the Glory level. After being strengthened, the power can reach 28 knots, which is barely considered a fast aircraft carrier.

Roosevelt smiled bitterly: "So, the British still have aircraft carriers available on the Atlantic next month, but we have no one?"

"It's not all. The Cobbenz (** class) will be in service in 10 days, and the Bunker Mountain (Essex class) will be in service as early as the end of this month. However, these two warships were originally scheduled to support the British side. Are we..." Admiral Kim did not continue, but the meaning in his eyes was clearly telling Roosevelt that you understand!

Roosevelt waved his hand: "You can't continue to delay, otherwise Prime Minister Churchill will be very sad to pass the test. I don't think so. Given that the Royal Navy now has a fleet aircraft carrier, we will provide the USS Coubens light aircraft carrier to the UK, and the Bunker Hill will use it themselves... and then provide it to the UK after the subsequent Essex-class aircraft carrier is completed."

"Okay..." Admiral Kim was obviously reluctant, but now Britain and the United States are a pair of brothers in distress. If Britain really surrenders, the United States will be completely finished, so he pinched his nose and had to admit it.

"In order to delay the delivery of fleet aircraft carriers, we will first provide 10 escort aircraft carriers and sufficient carrier-based aircraft to the UK, and all fighter aircraft will be adopted. Is it difficult to do this?"

"There is one thing, but it can be overcome."

Although no one mentioned the postponement or cancellation of Plan A, everyone was tacitly aware that Plan A could not be implemented in a short period of time. Moreover, given the problems exposed by this battle, Plan A must undergo major modifications. Turner has received the task and is preparing to upgrade it to Plan B next month and submit it for discussion. Therefore, the escort carriers originally scheduled for Plan A can free up their hands to provide it to the UK. Admiral Jin silently calculated that he would give five ships in May and another five ships in June. This progress can basically be guaranteed; the Victory (Essex-class) will be put into service in late June, and at worst it will give this aircraft carrier to the British.

"But it is obviously not enough for the Atlantic Fleet to have only one aircraft carrier." Li Hai said after pondering for a moment, "Are you going to consider retrieving the Pacific Fleet?"

Roosevelt turned his gaze to General Jin, who did not make clear yes or no, but only stated one fact: "The Monterrey is completed in four weeks, the Capote (both ships are ** class) will be in service in early June, the Pacific Fleet is currently resting in Australia, and now the Panama Canal waterway is interrupted. It will take at least 2 months for them to go back to the east coast by detour in South America."

Admiral Jin's implication is obvious: it is not cost-effective to withdraw the Pacific Fleet from the Far East. By the time of return at the end of June, there will be one Essex and two **-class ships available in the local area, and the only ones that can be used by the Pacific Fleet are now the Essex and Saratoga.

"Okay, then don't get it back, the situation in the Far East is also very important." Roosevelt sighed, "It seems that we can only take a defensive position in the Atlantic."

If the defensive move is taken, the defense of the Caribbean becomes increasingly important. Marshall soon received a mission to strengthen the strategic key points of the Caribbean. In the future, the defense will be strengthened, including Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico and other places, and sufficient aircraft and army must be deployed. According to Roosevelt's vision, at least one division and more than 200 aircraft will be deployed in these areas.

"As for the possible restoration of the Panama Canal, what are the prospects you evaluated?"

"The situation is even more serious than expected." Admiral Jin sighed, "The Japanese sank two battleships inside in one breath, and all the canals and locks were sank in the canal. Experts believe that to restore it, we need to take four steps: the first step is to clean up the earth buried on the warship; the second step is to float or tow the two warships; the third step is to clean up the remaining earth underwater; the fourth step is to redugal and build the locks... The overall construction period is expected to last for more than 48 months, and tow or float these two warships is a difficult point. Their combined tonnage exceeds 80,000 tons."

Roosevelt frowned: "Is there any other way?"

"In addition, a canal is opened near the Gatong lock, which is about 10 kilometers long. Exploration takes 12-14 months, the construction period takes 24-30 months, and about three and a half years. If the extraordinary construction speed is adopted, it may be compressed to within 3 years."

"Well, next month we will hold a special meeting to discuss this issue in detail." Roosevelt smiled bitterly, "The Senate and the House of Representatives notified me that I will need to accept secret questions from both houses in three days, and I must pass the questions to obtain the subsequent construction budget." (To be continued.)

...
Chapter completed!