Dimensionen der Logistik

[Big A]

In diversen Threads, besonders in den "was wäre, wenn..." wurde über große, weitreichende Operationen diskutiert und ich habe manchmanl auf die schwierige logistische Unterstützung hingewiesen. Dazu habe ich in
Milan Vego, The Battle for Leyte, 1944, Naval Institute Press 2006, S. 27f etwas dazu gefunden, was ganz anschaulich die Dimensionen verdeutlicht, die bei großen Operationen hinter den Kulissen nötig sind um die kämpfenden Einheiten in See zu versorgen:

Zitat:
Petroleum products reached forward bases in commercial tankers from the US West Coast, the Netherland West Indies, and the 9-million-barrel oil storage at Pearl Harbor. On 1 October 1944, when Eniwetok (the Marshalls) was abandoned as an advanced fleet anchorage and replaced with Ulithi, approximately 1000 miles in each direction was added to the trip of each commercial tanker, slowing down turnaround time. (...)
At Ulithi, six to eight old tankers  each with a 60.000- to 100.000 barrel capacity served as a floating  tank farm. Guam and Saipan served as permanent petroleum supply bases. The Navy built their tank storages with capacities of 430.000 and 100.000 barrels respectively.
The link between bases and the fleet was "At Sea Logistics Service Group", operated under the Third (or Fifth) Fleet. In October 1944, this group consisted of 34 fleet oilers, 11 escort carriers, 19 destroyers, 26 escort destroyers, and a number of seagoings tugs, divided into ten tio twelve task units to fuel the fleet in echelons. From nine to twelve tankers were in one fueling group and operated within easy distance of TF 38. About every three to four days a task unit of three oilers, with the accompanying escorts, would join this fueling group to relieve those almost empty. These, in turn, transferred the remainder of their fuel to other tankers that were partly full and retired to Ulithi to procure a new load from merchant tankers.
Each unit was accompanied by an escort carrier, which, from aircraft pools at Eniwetok, Guam, and Manus brought replacement aircraft and pilots for the fast carriers of the Third Fleet and for the ecort carriers of the Seventh Fleet. Eight or more escort carriers provided air combat patrols and antisubmarine patrols for the oiler groups.
(...)
Fueling areas for the carrier groups were invariably located beyond the effective range of enemy land-based aircraft.

Jetzt übertrage ich mal gedanklich diese Aussagen auf das für die KM in Frage kommende Seegebiet, verkleinere den Umfang der zu unterstützenden Einheiten (gewünscht waren ein bis zwei Trägergruppen für Raids) und überlege, wie das hätte klappen sollen.
Tanklager ausserhalb feindlicher Reichweite? Wo? Kanal? Nordseeküste Deutschlands? Wohl kaum! Norwegen? Eventuell.
Schnelle Tankschiffe? Welche? Jetzt bitte nicht wieder mit der "Dithmarschen"-Klasse kommen.
Luftschutz für die Versorgungsrouten?
Betanken in Gegenden ausserhalb der Reichweite landgestützer Flugzeuge? Wo? (nicht vergessen, Kraftstoff ist auf Kriegsschiffen auch eine Frage der Stabilität, niemand flutet gerne leere Tanks, also muss ständig nachversorgt werden.)