Chapter 1179 Eagle Strike aircraft carrier
May 25, 1915.
Ernst rarely leaves his "home base" Rhine City. This time Ernst will go to the Pemba Bay Shipyard in East Africa.
Different from Ernst’s other itineraries, this time Ernst’s inspection of the Pemba Bay Shipyard was relatively low-key, with no media or grand welcome ceremony arranged.
May 26, 1915, ten o'clock in the morning.
Ernst arrived in the city of Pemba.
Aaron, the chief designer of Pemba Bay Shipyard, who had already received the news, personally led the way to the place where the aircraft carrier was berthed.
At 10:40, Ernst's convoy arrived at the East African Military Port in Pemba Bay, and the Eagle Strike aircraft carrier was lying quietly in the berth.
Ernst was quite excited when he looked at this sea monster parked in the East African military port, although this domestic aircraft carrier did not seem to fit the image of an aircraft carrier in his impression.
However, Ernst also understands that this is not the 21st century after all, and it is already very difficult for East African researchers to create such a sea monster without reference.
Aaron introduced to Ernst on the side: "Your Majesty, this is the Eagle Strike aircraft carrier we named according to your request."
Ernst was very satisfied with the word "eagle strike". The eagle struck the sky, fish flew to the shallow bottom, and all kinds of frost sky competed for freedom.
In the previous life, the Far Eastern Empire named a certain series of missiles "Eagle Strike", so this does not conflict with East Africa naming its aircraft carrier "Eagle Strike".
Moreover, aircraft carriers themselves use carrier-based aircraft as a means of attack, so the term "eagle strike" is more suitable. Combined with the sentence "fish flies shallow bottom", Ernst believes that in the future, East Africa will need to occupy a place for the name of East African submarines.
Aaron continued: "It took us six full years of continuous experiments and demonstrations to finally build the USS Eagle Strike aircraft carrier. Its full load displacement is more than 14,000 tons, the standard displacement is more than 12,000 tons, and it is 180 meters long. Thirteen meters, 24 meters wide, with a speed of 22 knots, and uses fuel as its power source.”
"Very good!" Ernst commented. At least from the appearance, it is much more attractive than those aircraft carriers transformed from freighters. Otherwise, East African researchers would not have spent six years to build this steel aircraft carrier. Behemoth built.
Of course, it is not very appropriate to describe East Africa's first aircraft carrier as a steel behemoth. This adjective is more suitable for East Africa's battleships.
It can be seen from the displacement of the Eagle Strike that it is still a bit small compared to those aircraft carriers in previous generations that often weighed tens of thousands of tons or even more than 100,000 tons.
Most of the battleships in East Africa have a displacement greater than the Eagle Strike aircraft carrier. After all, there is no reference, so the design tends to be conservative.
However, Ernst pointed out that the appearance of this aircraft carrier is above the passing line, such as the island located on the right side of the deck.
"Let's go up and have a look!" Ernst said.
Ernst noticed the aircraft, or carrier-based aircraft, on the Eagle Strike aircraft carrier at first sight. In Ernst's mind, the more carrier-based aircraft a carrier has, the stronger its combat effectiveness will naturally be.
So he asked: "How many carrier-based aircraft can the Eagle Strike carry?" Aaron replied: "Let me tell you, Your Majesty, the Eagle Strike aircraft carrier can carry up to twenty-four carrier-based aircraft. It is equivalent to a mobile phone on the sea. With the help of these carrier-based aircraft on the apron, we can quickly complete the take-off and landing of aircraft, thereby achieving uninterrupted and long-range strikes against enemy ships.”
At this time, Ernst suddenly noticed something, that is, the deck seemed to be made of wood. Although he also knew that early aircraft carriers used wooden decks in his previous life, the fact that the first aircraft carrier in East Africa used wooden decks still made him feel a bit strange.
He said to Aaron: "Why does the Eagle Strike aircraft carrier use wooden decks instead of steel and other materials?"
Aaron said: "Wooden decks have many advantages such as non-slip, moisture-proof, and heat insulation, which are especially important in humid and hot seas. In East Africa, whether it is the local offshore or overseas territories, most of them are concentrated in tropical seas and the Indian Ocean. The South Ocean, the Central Pacific and the South Atlantic all fit this profile."
"So based on the activity area of our navy, it is reasonable to use wooden decks. Of course, we have also tried to use other materials, but due to time constraints, we are not satisfied yet."
"For example, according to our experiments and calculations, if an aircraft carrier uses a steel flight deck to perform missions in most of my country's sea areas, the deck surface may quickly rise to more than 60 degrees in a short period of time. After all, steel absorbs heat. Soon, it will be easier to get wet and hot on the sea. If the steel is not specially treated, it will easily slip. The high temperature will also greatly reduce the service life of the aircraft tires and may lead to the risk of tire blowout. The corresponding wooden deck is more Conducive to the safety of aircraft taking off and landing.”
"The steel deck is not without its advantages. For example, it has excellent protection. However, it is easy to deform once it is attacked. According to the current stage of technology, it must be returned to the port for a long time to be repaired, and the wooden deck is damaged. After the attack, it can be repaired quickly, and a series of repair work can be completed on the aircraft carrier.”
"The use of wooden decks can effectively reduce weight and improve the stability and seaworthiness of warships. my country's first-generation aircraft carriers obviously still have many deficiencies in experience and design, so for the sake of safety, the use of wooden decks naturally makes sense."
Ernst probably understood some of the tricks, after all, he had more knowledge, but some East African officials did not understand.
At this time, an East African naval officer asked: "Mr. Aaron, if this kind of wooden deck is attacked by artillery, it will easily ignite and collapse, right?"
Aaron said calmly: "This is related to the combat mode of the aircraft carrier. From the beginning, we did not intend to let it have a head-on confrontation with attack ships such as battleships. The positioning of the aircraft carrier is that the combat distance exceeds the range of the naval gun. Strike mode."
"With the aircraft carrier as the core, the carrier-based aircraft are responsible for attacking enemy ships. Obviously, the target of the carrier-based aircraft is small and in the sky. Just imagine, if you face these flying in the sky and carrying bombs, the target of the carrier-based aircraft is small. Machine, which battleship wouldn’t have a headache!”
The navy officer did not give up and asked: "What if the enemy ship comes close?"
Aaron said: "Aircraft carriers never fight alone, but form a powerful combat system. According to our vision, frigates, destroyers and other ships are also needed to **** the aircraft carrier. This can effectively prevent the aircraft carrier itself from confronting enemy ships. conflict."
Of course, as Aaron said, if an aircraft carrier wants to form a combat system, investment must be indispensable. Not to mention other things, the research and development of related supporting ships alone will require erecting high-rise buildings from the ground.
At present, the Eagle Strike aircraft carrier obviously has no other supporting ships except itself and the carrier-based aircraft it carries. In other words, the Eagle Strike aircraft carrier does not have a complete combat system.
Of course, it is not impossible for the Eagle Strike to operate alone, but it is not safe and it is not easy to achieve results.
The Navy obviously does not fully accept aircraft carriers. After all, the emergence of aircraft carriers is a break from convention. This is a completely new combat system, the core of which is the aircraft carrier. All ship activities are based on the aircraft carrier, and then obtain ideal effect.
Of course, no matter what the Navy thinks, Ernst is generally satisfied with the Eagle Strike aircraft carrier, and Ernst knows that the aircraft carrier will become an important maritime battleship in the future, so it is impossible for East Africa to give up the research and development of the aircraft carrier.
However, the Eagle Strike aircraft carrier obviously has many problems, such as its wooden deck. Although in Aaron's words, wooden decks have many benefits, with the development of time and technology, wooden decks will eventually be eliminated, so East Africa Now is just the first step. There is still a long way to go for the East African aircraft carrier in the future.
(End of chapter)