Chapter 1215: 1216 Giant War Machine
In the shipyard full of workers, the sound of electric welding could be heard one after another. Everyone was busy, and in front of them, a huge ship was slowly showing its shape.
This is not an ordinary ship, it is a battleship, a super battleship that surpasses all previous battleships! Its full load displacement exceeds 80,000 tons! It is the largest war machine built in the history of this world.
As an aircraft carrier, this ship has a total length of more than 323 meters and a width of nearly 40 meters! Because of its angled deck design, its width even set a historical record for the width of a battleship.
In order to build this aircraft carrier, tens of thousands of workers are working non-stop every day. They have to assemble pieces of special steel plates onto this battleship.
There are thousands of cabins in the entire battleship, and there are even independent shops and small cinemas. Hundreds of non-combatants will serve on the warships, providing services such as haircuts and laundry for the entire crew.
The number of sailors and aviation officers and soldiers serving on this battleship alone exceeds 5,000! The strike capability of this aircraft carrier exceeds that of an entire kingdom in the past!
Four steam catapults were also built for the first time. They could accelerate heavy jet fighters to a state where they could take off. This brand-new technology was not available in other countries, and they could not even imagine such a device.
On the battleship that has gradually taken shape, countless workers are walking back and forth. From time to time, sparks from electric welding fall down, slowly falling on the edge of the already formed hull.
The crane lifted the huge, heavy steel plate and sent it to the location where it was to be installed. The bridge part that had not been built at all was still a huge hole.
Due to the need to install steam catapults, there are four deep ravines on the deck that have not been filled, and the location of the blocking cables at the back also looks messy.
There are some tents set up where the heavy decks have been installed. Beside the tents, a group of engineers are checking the parts that have been constructed according to the drawings.
The whole project is too complex and huge. After all, this is the first time in human history that such a huge war machine has been built.
No joke at all, even the sunken battleship of Mirage had a full load displacement of less than 40,000 tons.
The fleet-level aircraft carriers built by the Tang Empire themselves had a full load displacement of only more than 30,000 tons at best, which was even a little smaller than the battleships of the Mirage.
Even though the Tang State has built and launched 100,000-ton cruise ships, built and launched 130,000-ton oil tankers, and built cargo ships of more than 100,000 tons, the tonnage of battleships has never exceeded 50,000.
Now, after the launch of this new aircraft carrier of the Tang Empire, this record will be broken! The Tang Empire is about to have the largest war machine in the world!
It can carry more than 75 carrier-based aircraft of various types to complete a variety of tactical and strategic missions in the most complex situations.
For the navy of the Tang Empire, it shoulders the important task of realizing full-scale jet-powered carrier-based aircraft, and it is also the pride of the navy.
Although none of the carrier-based aircraft to be carried on this aircraft carrier have yet been mass-produced, and most of the aircraft are still undergoing secret test flights, it has already reserved its position as the future maritime hegemon.
All equipment on this warship will be state-of-the-art, including advanced electronic equipment, radar detection systems, sonar detection systems, close-in defense guns and anti-aircraft missiles...
As a battleship, its information processing capabilities are approximately the sum of the information processing capabilities of other countries except the Tang Empire!
As long as the Tang Empire did not build nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, it would basically always be the most powerful maritime combat weapon in the world.
The whole world knew that the Tang Empire was building the most terrifying war weapons in the world in the almost closed industrial zone of Longdao, but they never imagined that these advanced war weapons had reached such an exaggeration.
While other countries around the world are still producing tanks of the M4 and T-34 levels, the Tang Empire's catapult jet fighters are already ready to be put on ships.
How huge is the gap? It was so huge that the weapons and equipment produced by the Tang Empire had even surpassed other countries in the world for more than two generations.
Once the next war breaks out, the military equipment of the Tang Empire will sweep through the opponent with a crushing attitude, turning the opponent into dust, and not even a bit of dregs will be left.
"Hurry up! Pay attention to every process!" A foreman passed by the workers who were installing internal equipment and shouted to these workers.
“Don’t worry! Boss, we are the best workers in the world. If you don’t believe us, who else can we believe?” A worker responded to his boss with a smile, holding a pencil between his ears and a wrench in his hand.
Obviously, they have all been working here for many years and have already had some tacit understanding with their leaders. In fact, what they say is not all bragging. They are indeed the best workers in the world, because the advanced battleships they have built have never been surpassed so far.
Four steam turbines have been installed at the designated positions, and the generator sets have also been installed. The completion progress of this Datang Empire aircraft carrier is close to 70%.
At this rate, it will be launched into the water soon, sea trials can be completed within a year, and it will be put into service very quickly.
Of course, because there was no need to worry about various problems with the overall design of the battleship, the Tang Empire started construction of three identical aircraft carriers on Longdao at one go.
This is the advantage Tang Mo gave to the Tang Empire: his technologies are mature and reliable, and have been tested countless times. Compared with those countries that are trying to cross the river by feeling the stones, he has the five permanent members to touch.
Three super huge shipyards are already crowded. In the open space next to them, there are steel plates stacked together, as well as radars and other electronic equipment ready to be loaded onto the ship.
Huge trucks parked together neatly, they brought all kinds of parts here from all over Dragon Island.
“Don’t be proud! It’s too late to cry by then!” The foreman pointed at the worker, then jumped over a circle of cables coiled on the ground and walked to another construction site in the distance.
“Leave it to me, boss! Walk slowly!” The worker shouted to the leader who was leaving, and then he lowered his head and continued to work.
Although the skilled workers here are more proud than the other, the work in their hands is completed perfectly. The Tang Empire's invincibility was due to these workers, because they ensured the high quality of advanced weapons, so that the soldiers of the Tang Empire could use these weapons to conquer everything.
These workers built the world's first ironclad many years ago, and later built the first cruiser, and later they participated in building the world's first battleship!
Over the years, they not only built the world's first submarine, but also built Liberty ships, built giant oil tankers, and built today's Giant-class large transport ships.
In addition, they also built the first generation of container freighters and the world's first aircraft carrier! Now, they have begun building the world's first generation steam catapult aircraft carrier with an angled deck!
So the worker just now was not bragging at all. The miraculous ships they built have never been surpassed!
The Essex class they produced before, as well as the somewhat improved Essex class aircraft carrier, have actually been sold to other countries.
It’s just that these ships cannot be delivered to other countries until the new aircraft carriers of the Tang Empire are put into service.
Those countries that purchased Essex-class aircraft carriers have all visited the ships. After mastering the general ideas of aircraft carrier construction, these countries have also begun the construction of their own aircraft carriers.
In fact, there are already more than a dozen aircraft carriers under construction, and many countries have even begun training their own naval aviation.
However, for these countries, there are still various mysteries surrounding this brand-new maritime equipment, making their progress not as smooth as imagined.
These countries have discovered that their propeller-type carrier-based aircraft can actually take off easily as long as they take off into the wind.
With the help of arresting cables, aircraft can also land on the deck of an aircraft carrier - this is theoretically possible, but in practice it is very dangerous to operate.
The biggest problem is that pilots cannot judge their precise landing position. They can easily miss the landing zone and then fall into the sea.
When the Tang Empire allowed personnel from these countries to visit the aircraft carrier, it did not take them to see the lighting system for auxiliary take-off and landing... This made it several times more difficult for navies to train carrier-based aircraft pilots.
During shore training, these pilots frequently went out of the prescribed runway range. Whether they could land successfully or not depended entirely on the pilot's experience.
What’s even more depressing is that this kind of experience is completely derived from flying. As long as the aircraft carrier’s buildings are slightly changed and the reference objects are different, the experience will be completely useless.
And this is only a problem encountered in on-road experiments. It is really hard to say how dangerous it would be for the aircraft to land under the undulating waves on the sea.
Those HNA pilots from various countries who have failed countless times and may lose their lives at any time really want to know how the pilots of the Tang Empire can complete efficient takeoffs and landings under such deceptive conditions. Operation.
Of course, after undergoing rigorous training, they gradually improved their success rate. Soon, the ranks of aircraft carrier-based aircraft pilots in various countries grew.