There is no doubt that battleships are still the most powerful maritime combat platforms in this era. All countries are pursuing this powerful weapon, especially the shocking Battle of Jutland, which has strengthened the determination of all countries to pursue this luxurious weapon!
However, after World War I, there was still a trend of aircraft carriers around the world. Especially in the Battle of Qingdao, the Chinese Air Force attacked the Japanese Combined Fleet and sank an aircraft carrier. For the naval community, it is undoubtedly a new trend.
A huge shock, more and more people believe that the air has huge advantages over the sea.
If the battleship is regarded as a mobile fort on the sea, then the aircraft carrier is a mobile airport. On land, the air force undoubtedly has a huge advantage over the artillery. Then, does the aircraft carrier also have a huge advantage over the battleship?
This is a question that many people are thinking about!
After World War I, all countries also intensified their research on aircraft carriers. The Washington Conference also included aircraft carriers in the ranks of aircraft carriers. In fact, it can be seen that the great powers are afraid of and attach importance to this weapon. Of course, due to the power of aircraft carriers,
It comes from aircraft, and the performance of current aircraft cannot meet the needs of naval warfare, so senior officials of various countries still stubbornly insist on the strategy of giving priority to battleships.
In fact, this is not only the result of the stubbornness of conservative forces, but also the game of arms interest groups hidden behind it. There are big arms dealers in various countries who make money by relying on expensive battleships. Now if all the battleships are scrapped and replaced with
In order to obtain an aircraft carrier, they will have to invest more energy and may even lose naval orders, which they cannot afford in any case!
Moreover, the navy actually has this kind of consideration. If the main combat weapons are replaced, the strategies and tactics will also change. Then there will be changes in the military command system. The military command palace must have an updated knowledge structure to be able to adapt to the changes.
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There is no possibility for those old officers to change, and they are also facing the fate of being eliminated. Therefore, these people usually behave very conservatively, stubbornly, and oppose any change. This situation is common in the navies of various countries. The navy
It is not just a military branch, but also a huge interest group with too many vested interests.
The Chinese Navy does not have this problem at all. After the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, China no longer has a navy in the true sense, and the warships under the command can only be regarded as gadgets.
Starting from the Qinzhou Shipyard, the Chinese Navy started from scratch, accumulating shipbuilding technology, cultivating technical personnel, training naval officers, etc., and then officially started. The leader of the Chinese Navy, Chen Shaokuan, is not too old and is an active thinker.
At that time, coupled with Qiao Yu's ideas, the Chinese Navy, which had no historical baggage, firmly embarked on the road of aircraft carriers from the beginning.
Of course, it is not easy to build a large warship. China can only explore on its own. The world's first truly modern aircraft carrier is the Japanese Hosho. The Japanese adopted a fully armored and island structure.
, suddenly became a model of the world's aircraft carrier.
However, in Qiao Yu's view, the Fengxiang is still far from being a real aircraft carrier. The Athletic God built by the British at the same time also adopted an island structure, but the British used a closed bow to enhance the aircraft carrier.
In addition, the British placed the soot on the aircraft carrier in the middle of the island building, which suddenly solved the troublesome chimney problem of early aircraft carriers!
The Fengxiang's smoke white was not placed in the island-style building. It was still the original dump-type smoke white. Not only was it not strong enough, but it also took up valuable space. Since the Fengxiang's own displacement was only over 7,000 tons,
After using the island-type building, the armor of the aircraft carrier became narrower, which was very obstructive when taking off and landing aircraft. Shortly after it was completed, the Japanese demolished the island-type building, and it became the situation of the early aircraft carriers. Above
It is a fully armored weapon, and the command is placed on the second level.
The Japanese foolishly reversed history. However, with Qiao Yu's guidance, China would not be so stupid. From the beginning, China insisted on using the island structure. However, out of caution, China still used modifications for its first aircraft carrier.
The modified warship is the British battlecruiser HMS Indomitable, which is Britain's first battlecruiser. Its displacement is silicon pure, and its full load displacement exceeds 20,000 tons. This is an old ship that participated in the Battle of Jutland.
After World War I, with the advancement of technology, the speed of huge battleships could be much higher, almost as fast as battlecruisers, and battlecruisers were facing the fate of being eliminated.
In addition, after the Washington Conference, the British Navy was suffocated, and many old ships had to be sent to shipyards for dismemberment. At this time, China only had two large ships exceeding 10,000 tons, and there were no other warships for modification. Although in Washington
During the meeting, China received a tonnage of hundreds of thousands of tons, but these were still figures on paper.
Therefore, China set its sights on Britain. At this time, the British Empire had the largest number of scrapped warships in the world. Moreover, Britain was in financial distress and owed China more than 30 million pounds for World War I goods. It just happened to buy a few old warships.
Ship!
Although the British have previously had conflicts with China in northern Myanmar, the British are also very aware of the importance of the arms trade. The arms trade best demonstrates the close relationship between the two countries. Now the British colonies in the Far East are not stable. If the Chinese
If you intervene, I'm afraid things will be difficult to handle.
After careful consideration, in order to temporarily appease China, Britain agreed to sell the Indomitable to China, but also removed the main gun on it to prevent China from obtaining large-caliber artillery technology. However, this just met China's wishes. Anyway, China
It will definitely be demolished. China spent 150,000 pounds to buy the Indomitable.
After the warship was shipped to China, China gathered all its shipbuilding experts to carefully study the structure of the warship and figure out the key strategies. At this time, China also obtained a lot of German shipbuilding technology. The combination of the two confirmed each other.
, the Chinese gradually figured out how to build ships.
For more than half a year, China's main focus was to thoroughly understand the entire warship from the inside out, and then figure out how to transform the battlecruiser into an aircraft carrier according to its own vision. This work lasted for more than three years.
China purchased this warship before the Washington meeting.
It was not until 1926 that China completed the construction of its first aircraft carrier. This rate was not very high. In particular, Qiao Yu also provided many modification ideas, such as island-style buildings, full-passage decks, etc.
China's aircraft carrier road has fewer detours.
The reason why so much time is spent is that most of it is spent on the basics. From the Chinese perspective, this warship is not only a training base for the Chinese naval aviation in the future, but also the cradle of Chinese shipbuilding engineers.
Disassembly, figuring out all the key points of the warship, and then filling the entire warship bit by bit with Chinese craftsmanship and parts. This luxurious disassembly and assembly process is huge for the Chinese shipbuilding industry.
exercise!
Navy Commander-in-Chief Chen Shaokuan was excitedly introducing the newly renovated aircraft carrier to Qiao Yu. Chen Shaokuan was also a staunch aircraft carrier fan. In their hearts, although the Guangxi and Chongqing were also Chinese warships, they were still German after all.
The aircraft carrier was built in China with just a different brand, and there is no Chinese blood involved. Although the aircraft carrier in front of you is not of Chinese origin, it is soaked in the hard work of Chinese workers, and it can be regarded as a new Chinese aircraft carrier.
"Dazhong, this new aircraft carrier has a displacement of more than 21,000 tons and a full load displacement of more than 25,000 tons. It adopts a fully-through deck, is 213.65 meters long and 26.52 meters wide. The entire aircraft carrier can carry fifty aircraft.
, with a top speed of 30 knots and a range of 7,000 nautical miles! Except for the shell, which is still British, everything else about this warship is built by China itself, including the power system, weapons system, carrier-based aircraft, and internal design.
It was designed by Chinese designers, and only a small number of them went to Germany for advice. This is definitely a milestone event for the Chinese Navy. The Chinese Navy finally has its own aircraft carrier!"
Some things are also very interesting. In this time and space, China's first aircraft carrier is surprisingly the same as that of later generations. They are both purchased warships, they were modified by themselves, and they trained an excellent shipbuilding team through modifications. The only difference is
This warship arrived nearly a century earlier than later generations!
This time gap allows China to go to the ocean more calmly and better defend China's maritime power. Looking at the majestic and huge body of the aircraft carrier, people including Qiao Yu, Jiang Baili, Chen Shaokuan and others looked very excited.
There is even a feeling of excitement.
"President, why do I think this aircraft carrier is more majestic than a battleship?" Wu Tong said with a smile.
"You love your own child." Jiang Baili said with a smile: "Aircraft carriers are indeed not as powerful and resolute as battleships, especially the high-pitched muzzles, which are definitely the demeanor of a sea knight!"
Jiang Baili also paused when he said this, "Actually, I also think our aircraft carrier is more attractive!"
Wu Tong couldn't help but roll his eyes, don't they all have the same taste? What are you pretending to do!
"It's not enough to look good, you have to be able to fight. As the saying goes, a mule is a horse. It can be led around. Once we have an aircraft carrier, we must learn how to use the aircraft carrier and how to train more pilots. This aircraft carrier is the Chinese Navy.
The starting point for becoming stronger is the cradle for us to cultivate naval talents!"
"What Mr. Da said is right. I think it would be better to name this aircraft carrier Qidian. This is the starting point for the Chinese Navy to move towards the ocean, and also the starting point for China to become stronger!" Yang Du made a suggestion from the side.
It is true that this aircraft carrier has not been officially named yet, Qidian? It is also a good name, but when I think of the famous Qidian in later generations, I wonder if this is considered piracy, but I can’t control that much.
"I think it's okay, so I'll call you the starting number!"
Chen Shaokuan said with a smile: "This name is good. This is indeed the starting point of the navy. The aircraft carrier's Hummingbird carrier-based aircraft has been shipped from Sichuan. Our pilots have tested it many times and the performance is very good. We will conduct it soon.
This is the first take-off and landing experiment, I wonder if Mr. Dai is interested in taking a look?"
"How can you miss such a good thing? We will definitely participate when the time comes. However, taking off and landing are not easy. In recent years, many outstanding pilots from the United States, Britain, Japan and other countries have lost their lives. Don't underestimate this.
, we must make complete preparations. Only if it succeeds can China's aircraft carrier truly develop combat effectiveness!"
“Don’t worry, Mr. Da, we have selected the best pilots, the performance of the aircraft has been rigorously verified, and we are fully prepared. We will definitely succeed in one fell swoop!”