In addition, after the Anglo-American South China Sea War, no matter how much the South China Sea Federal Government tried to cover it up, the four aircraft carriers were still discovered by other countries, especially when the British and American navies learned that the South China Sea Federation actually owned four aircraft carriers with very large displacements.
After the ship, I finally understood the attack
Where did the aircraft of the British Support Fleet and the American Task Force come from? However, because the research on aircraft carriers by the two countries was still at a very primitive stage at this time, neither country wanted the navies of the South China Sea Federation to operate aircraft carriers.
The navy on the mother ship was far ahead of them.
The concept of aircraft carrier was actually proposed very early. In 1909, the Frenchman Clement Edel published the book "Military Flight". In this book, he talked about flying aircraft on warships.
Some assumptions and necessary conditions. However, he proposed this kind of military in great detail in the book.
The ship should have a very wide and flat take-off and landing deck, elevators, island superstructure, hangar, etc. However, Edel's amazing vision was not taken seriously by the French Navy, but was accepted by the British and American navies.
People have a special liking for airplanes, and the British have the most powerful navy in the world.
The navy needed aircraft, initially for reconnaissance, because naval operations at that time were mainly based on visual inspection. Whoever could detect the enemy fleet in advance would have a certain advantage in the naval battle. However, human eyesight is limited, even if you stand at the highest level
Using a telescope on a mast, one can only see up to 40 nautical miles on a clear day. In order to obtain a better view, the new invention of airplanes began to be moved to warships by navies of various countries.
However, the first successful use of airplanes was indeed not the Navy. It was a German cruise ship traveling on the Hamburg-New York route. It successfully allowed an airplane filled with mail to take off from its front deck and speed up.
The speed of mail delivery. Although this move made many people wonder whether the German government was inventing a way to use cruise ships to attack the United States, some people still noticed whether this innovation could be used in the military field?
This person was Captain Washington Irving Chambers, assistant director of the U.S. Naval Supplies Bureau. He immediately applied to the U.S. naval authorities and received approval, taking full responsibility for the test of aircraft taking off from warships. Therefore, in 1910, Colonel Chambers
, using the light cruiser "Birmingham" as a test ship, a take-off platform was installed on its front deck.
However, Colonel Chambers' experiment was not all plain sailing. He had more difficulty finding a suitable pilot than applying to the U.S. Navy for this experiment. Finally, he found a former and famous aviation pioneer, Glenn Coe.
Teece worked with fellow performance pilot Eugene B. Ely, and successfully persuaded him to do this experiment for the U.S. Navy.
On November 14, 1910, Ely piloted his Curtiss pusher biplane. After installing two air bags, he successfully took off from the forward deck flying platform of the "Birmingham", although the propeller struck.
It was damaged by the sea, but Yili still managed to fly the plane tenaciously.
Although this incident caused a sensation in the U.S. Navy. Some people even suggested that all U.S. Navy cruisers should be equipped with flying platforms and even flying platforms should be laid on the turrets of battleships. However, due to the insufficient power of the aircraft at the time and the lack of communication
and attack methods, this kind of experiment only stays in the experimental state.
1912 was a turning point for aircraft carriers. At the end of that year, the British Navy decided to convert the light cruiser "HMS Arena" into a seaplane carrier. They planned to install a take-off platform on the bow and a take-off platform on the stern.
Landing platform, and a Schott-type folding-wing aircraft with foldable wings was specially designed to equip this seaplane carrier.
In the subsequent trials, the performance of "Athletic God" was very successful, which prompted the Royal Navy to purchase the hull of a coal ship under construction and planned to transform it into a ship capable of carrying 10 seaplanes.
Regular aircraft carrier, "Ark Royal".
"Ark Royal" was equipped with a formal hangar, repair shop and crane for lifting aircraft, and a lightweight ejection trolley could also be used to launch seaplanes.
The aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy did not attract the attention of the navies of other countries at the time. The Germans were still keen on their Zeppelin airships, and the Italians only tested the take-off of an aircraft on the battleship "Tantine Arrigosili".
The technology was put aside and ignored. The French used a supply ship "Bliksem" and converted it into a seaplane carrier, but it could only carry 2 seaplanes at first.
In World War I, the new equipment of the aircraft came to the fore. It no longer had a separate reconnaissance function. As the war continued, it was gradually equipped with machine guns and bombs, and its weak power system was improved. It was officially added to the aircraft in the later stages of the war.
The ranks of new weapons also shine.
At this time, the "Ark Royal" and another seaplane carrier "Tampania" that were subsequently transformed also achieved good results in the war. They could not only provide long-distance reconnaissance for the fleet, but also provide
Land forces provide fire support, and can also use aircraft at sea to carry bombs and small fish to attack enemy ships.
After seeing the huge role of the aircraft carrier, the Royal Navy finally decided to build an aircraft carrier with larger tonnage and longer range in 1917. So they used the strength of a passenger ship "Conti Rosso"
The hull has been redesigned to be an aircraft carrier, and the appearance of this aircraft carrier is very similar to a modern aircraft carrier.
It has a direct deck runway, and open-air bridges are located on both sides. In order to prevent the smoke emitted from the chimneys from affecting the pilot's sight, two chimneys were specially placed between the flight deck and the hull, extending parallel to the stern.
This modified aircraft carrier has a full load displacement of 15,775 tons, a hull length of 173 meters, a deck length of 140 meters, and a width of 20.7 meters. It is driven by 12 coal-fired boilers, 2 steam turbine engines and 4 steam turbines.
It has a turbine engine, 4-axis propulsion, a maximum speed of 20.75 knots, an endurance of 8,000 kilometers and 16 knots. The ship can carry 22 aircraft and 400 crew members and ground crew. The only armament is 6 102mm single-barreled guns.
This aircraft carrier was named "HMS Hundred-Eyed Giant" by the Royal Navy.
After the "Hundred-Eyed Giant", the Royal Navy began to build a brand new aircraft carrier "HMS Arena". This is the first ship designed as an aircraft carrier from the beginning. It and the "Hundred-Eyed Giant"
It also used a full-length deck, but it added an island surrounding the chimney on the starboard side of the hull. This design became the standard design for aircraft carriers in various countries.
The design ideas of the "Arena" also influenced the US Navy. They proposed a plan to build at least 3 to 4 aircraft carriers in three years. However, with the end of the war, both the British and US governments began to
Congress did not approve this plan to reduce Navy military spending.
The U.S. Navy had no choice but to turn its newly built aircraft carrier into a modified experimental aircraft carrier. They used the hull of a coal ship and modified it into an aircraft carrier that could carry 55 aircraft.
Named "Langley".
As of 1922, in addition to the South China Sea Federation, the British Royal Navy already had three aircraft carriers, the Furious, the Hundred-Eyed Giant, and the Athletic, and one "Eagle" that had not yet been built, while the U.S. Navy
Also owned the "Langley".
However, these aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft still mainly provide reconnaissance for the fleet, and have some ability to attack surface ships. However, various countries have not yet systematically studied the tactics of using aircraft carrier-based aircraft to attack surface ships.
Training and research, and the carrier-based aircraft of various countries are still relatively crude, and they cannot meet the requirements for attacking large surface ships in terms of range, speed, and bomb load.
Looking back at the Federal Navy in the South China Sea, although various countries are still unable to grasp the specific parameters of the aircraft carriers equipped by the Federal Navy, from this Anglo-American South China Sea battle, the officers and soldiers of both navies have witnessed the attack capabilities of the Federal aircraft. From this aspect, the two countries have also
It can be estimated that the approximate parameters of the South China Sea Federation Navy aircraft carriers and aircraft are much higher than those of our own country. (To be continued...)
