Chapter 267 A wonder in the aircraft carrier world: Charles de Gaulle
Brest Shipyard.
Sparks from the arc are flying, and in the dock and on the slipway, huge steel products are being constructed in an orderly manner.
When passing by the warship built in the largest shipyard, Qin Tao couldn't help but smile on his face.
how many years?
In April 1989, the first keel was laid, and now it is June 1992. More than three years have passed, and the hull has not been welded yet, and there is no trace of the deck. At this time, it is still impossible to judge from the appearance. , it can be seen that this is an aircraft carrier.
The French are unique no matter what they do, and building aircraft carriers is certainly no exception.
In order to replace the two conventionally powered Clemenceau-class aircraft carriers (Clemenceau and Foch) built in the 1960s, the French had begun planning the construction of the next generation aircraft carrier as early as the mid-1970s. However, One after another, it was not until the 1980s that detailed design began, and construction officially began in the late 1980s.
Initially, this warship was named Richelieu, succeeding the battleship Richelieu during World War II. But after it was built, it was named Charles de Gaulle by Chirac.
There was also a lot of open and covert fighting at that time. Atlantic Shipyard and Brest Shipyard both competed for this big cake. In the end, Brest Shipyard won. It is even said that the tonnage of the new aircraft carrier was limited to 40,000 tons just to take care of the mines. Dock Dimensions at Sturt Shipyard.
Facts have proved that romantic French people have never been enthusiastic about work, which is in sharp contrast to hard-working Easterners. They prefer to enjoy life, and from time to time they go on strike because of poor treatment. This aircraft carrier was not launched until 1994, and it was not put into service until 1999, setting a new historical record.
At the same time, due to the delay in progress, the construction cost of this aircraft carrier has also increased. Among other things, the dock costs money!
How much did it cost in the end? It is said that the price of a 40,000-ton French aircraft carrier is the same as that of an American aircraft carrier. The cost of building a 40,000-ton French aircraft carrier is the same as that of a 100,000-ton American aircraft carrier. People can't help but sigh at the courage of the French.
In addition to the price, the design is also very interesting. For example, it uses the reactor of a nuclear submarine, giving it a maximum speed of only 25 knots. Even if the French insist that it can reach 27 knots, it is still slow enough, compared with other aircraft carriers. Compared with a speed of thirty knots, it is simply a weakling.
There is also a unique layout of the ship island forward, just like leading the charge, which makes people feel that it is unique in the world.
At this time, Qin Tao laughed at the aircraft carrier that had not yet been decked, which aroused the curiosity of the people around him.
Old Henry, the receptionist at Brest Shipyard, looked at Qin Tao and couldn't help but said: "Mr. Qin, are you looking at the warships built in our shipyard? That is our aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. After it is completed, , will become the most powerful warship in our navy."
For the French, General de Gaulle is their leader. Just like Napoleon, the aircraft carrier named after General de Gaulle will naturally become their pride.
Anyway, the construction of the aircraft carrier is in an open-air dock, and it can be detected by satellites flying over every day. It is not a secret matter.
"Yes, it is the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the world besides the United States." Qin Tao said: "It will become the pride of the French Navy. I wonder what kind of reactor it uses? If it is the reactor of your nuclear submarine If so, I’m afraid you don’t have enough motivation, right?”
"How is it possible?" At this moment, several experts happened to pass by and planned to go to the dock to inspect. After hearing Qin Tao's words, they immediately stopped and took over the conversation.
“Our warship uses the same GEC Alsthom PWR Type K-15 nuclear reactor as our new generation Triumph-class ballistic missile nuclear submarine, and the power is very sufficient.”
“Oh, if we use the reactors of four nuclear submarines, the power will be almost enough.” Qin Tao agreed.
Several experts looked ugly.
If we make an analogy based on displacement, four units should indeed be used. However, where does their aircraft carrier have so much space? Only two nuclear reactors occupy five cabins. If there are four nuclear reactors, how much space should they occupy?
"For an aircraft carrier, if the power is not enough, it will be very embarrassing, especially when taking off a carrier-based aircraft. If the speed is not enough to provide the aircraft carrier with enough deck wind, then the aircraft may not be able to take off with a full load. , the deck must be lengthened.”
Qin Tao is not just talking nonsense. After the Charles de Gaulle was built, it began its trial voyage. As a result, it was embarrassingly discovered that the length of the angled deck was not enough! It was difficult for their carrier-based aircraft to make a comeback after a failed landing, so they had to adopt a temporary remedy: another steel plate was welded to the front of the deck and lengthened by four meters. Amid global ridicule, flight safety was finally guaranteed.
At this time, Qin Tao tried to persuade him with good intentions, but the experts all turned red and were obviously very dissatisfied. One of them couldn't help but said: "Are you familiar with aircraft carriers? Your men have designed and built them." What aircraft carrier?”
Looking at the oriental faces of these people, you should know that it is too much to come here to talk nonsense and point out the country without any experience in aircraft carrier construction.
The French like to hear compliments, and such a denouncement will definitely make them angry.
"Mr. Duquesne, this is the person in charge of Dongfang Mingzhou Shipbuilding Industry Group, Mr. Qin." Old Henry frowned a little. He originally took these guests to the shipyard for a walk, and then met with the people in the welding team. Just train the welders they bring and get a G-level certificate.
Unexpectedly, such an accident happened. He could only introduce it honestly.
"Mingzhou?" Ducaina thought of something and suddenly said: "Are you the Mingzhou Shipbuilding Industry Group that went to Lao Maozi's to participate in the Minsk auction and deliberately raised the price?"
Come on, good things don’t go out, but bad things spread thousands of miles! Qin Tao didn't expect that the French people in front of him also knew about this.
"Yes, it's him. I was at the scene and saw him. He shouted out the price of 40 million, which shocked me!" said a companion next to him.
“Yes, we really wanted to get that warship, but in the end, the people from Dazhou Company won the bid. It feels good to be rich.” Qin Tao sighed with emotion.
"Qin, since you are participating in the bidding, you should be very familiar with the Minsk. Compared with our Charles de Gaulle, which one is better?" After knowing Qin Tao's true identity, Duquesne had already explained what he had just said. Putting his unhappiness to the back of his mind, he began to ask about Qin Tao's attitude.
Qin Tao shook his head helplessly: "I don't know much about your Charles de Gaulle, so there's no way to compare it."
“Can you tell us what you know about the Minsk?”
“Well, do we want to find a place to chat?”
"sure."
So, in a conference room at the Brest Shipyard, Qin Tao introduced it to a group of French aircraft carrier experts.
"The Minsk is a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser with a large number of weapons on it. Of course, this also results in a small number of aircraft it can carry. It is not a suitable aircraft carrier. However, if it is modified, its potential No worse than the Charles de Gaulle, it can be transformed into a medium-sized aircraft carrier with about fifty carrier-based aircraft."
“It has great potential for transformation?”
“Yes, if it weren’t for the huge transformation potential, why would Dazhou Company be willing to spend 80 million to photograph the Minsk? Now, Dazhou Company must have started studying how to improve it, right?”
"How is this possible? Our Charles de Gaulle can only carry about forty carrier-based aircraft. That warship has a displacement similar to ours. How can it carry fifty?"
"I have observed that the part below the waterline of your Charles de Gaulle is not floating enough, so even if the displacement is the same, your internal space is not optimistic."
laymen watch the excitement, experts watch the door, what Qin Tao said is the key.
It's still because of the **** dock. The dock is not big enough. Of course, their aircraft carrier cannot float too much. Otherwise, it cannot be built. The dock will block the side of the float!
It would have been better if it had been built at Atlantic Shipyard!
They know clearly that this is still due to the issue of interests. So far, the Brest Shipyard is state-owned and the Atlantic Shipyard is privately owned. There are many problems in this.
The same is true for nuclear power systems. As the Cold War eases and eventually ends, the number of their nuclear submarines will definitely gradually decrease. If nuclear reactors are not installed on surface ships, their nuclear power research and development units may run out of food. Once the industry is hit, it will be difficult to recover in the future.
So, they have many restrictions, and they can only come up with useless things like the Charles de Gaulle.
"By the way, we just received a piece of news. I wonder if Mr. Qin knows about it." Ducaina said to Qin Tao: "The Kiev at Damao Northern Shipyard suddenly caught fire for unknown reasons last night. Our ship The reconnaissance satellite took a lot of photos.”
The billowing smoke enveloped the entire Kiev. This serious situation certainly attracted the attention of the West. When Qin Tao took the photo, a surprised expression appeared on his face: "How is this possible?"
His heart has long been filled with joy.
It is not polite to reciprocate. The Minsk's boiler exploded. How could the Kiev end well? Nicholas is not someone to be bullied.
For the Northern Fleet, the only thing left is to sell the Kiev for scrap. They are probably still wondering whether they can sell it for a high price like the Minsk. Anyway, the warship belongs to the country, and the Northern Fleet is in better condition than the Pacific Fleet. .
The most difficult one among them was definitely Asan. After struggling for a long time, he got nothing in the end. This ending should be the best. Qin Tao is very satisfied.
It cost a lot of money to fool Ah San, but this is secondary. Ah San’s hope was shattered, and his heart must have been hit even more severely. He didn’t know when he would be able to recover.
"Yes, this warship has not been touched for several years since it entered the repair shop. Recently I heard that Ah San has taken a liking to this warship. Could it be that Da Mao accidentally destroyed this warship when he was dismantling the internal weapons and equipment? Is it lit?"
"Well, it's possible. It's not easy to dismantle such a large warship." Qin Tao said.
Hearing Qin Tao talk about the dismantling of large warships, Decena suddenly thought of something, rolled his eyes, and then said to Qin Tao: "Mr. Qin, do you have a close relationship with your domestic navy? "
Qin Tao immediately shook his head: "We are a private shipyard. Even if we undertake the construction task of warships, our qualifications are limited after all. How can we have a close relationship with the navy? Don't get me wrong. When we bid for the Minsk, we did not bid for it. To transform it into an aircraft carrier, we just want to transform it into a military park."
If it was just for ship scrapping, we would never spend 40 million to bid for the Minsk. Qin Tao made it clear at this time that we are here to transform the park, not to build an aircraft carrier.
Duquesne was embarrassed for a moment, and then continued: "We are currently building the Charles de Gaulle, so our current Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier will be retired soon. If your navy needs it, we can use this The aircraft carrier will be given to you free of charge. Mr. Qin, I hope you can convey our thoughts to your navy through your relationship."
Just now the other party linked himself with the navy. It turned out that he was trying to make such a fool of himself!
The old powers are slowly declining. The sun never sets, and the same is true for France. France's economic form cannot support their navy to maintain a huge scale. When their new aircraft carrier is put into service, the old aircraft carrier is Must retire.
The aircraft carrier Clemenceau, built in 1955 and commissioned in 1961, has experienced thirty years at sea. It is already old and in the ranks of retirement. By the time the Charles de Gaulle is commissioned, or even before the Charles de Gaulle is commissioned, The Clemenceau could be decommissioned at any time.
But what about after retirement?
Just like Lao Maozi's warship, after decommissioning, can't we dismantle the scrap metal?
The Clemenceau cannot do this because a large amount of hazardous substances, such as asbestos, were used during the construction of this warship. Therefore, if the scrap metal is dismantled, the cost will be quite high. The cost of dismantling those hazardous substances The processing costs are quite high.
Therefore, even if it is to be demolished, it can only be sold to a third world country for demolition. For example, Ah San once bought it, but after the appeal of environmental protection personnel, Ah San retreated and did not dare to demolish it. .
Instead of spending a high price for pollution-free treatment, it is better to give this warship away.
Although warships are said to be given away for free, if warships that are close to retirement want to be reused, they must be renovated and equipped with a large number of carrier-based aircraft, which all cost money.
What good intentions can the French have?
Qin Tao secretly laughed in his heart. This trick was obviously the one he had just played. He used this method to fool Ah San, but Ah San was fooled! The French have learned from this experience, so they plan to follow the same example and use it on their own side.
Although he already had the answer in his heart, Qin Tao's face showed surprise: "Give the Clemenceau to our navy? This is really good news. I can help send this news back. However, Can you make the decision?"
The people Qin Tao is talking to in the conference room now are not officers of the French Navy, but experts from the French Shipbuilding Bureau.
These are clearly from two departments. Do they have this qualification?
Hearing Qin Tao's words, Duquesne felt a little embarrassed. He smiled and then said: "Of course, we designed the Clemenceau. Now it is going to be retired. We will also make the follow-up arrangements."
If they can’t sell it and eventually dismantle it themselves, it will definitely be their job, so this excuse is also valid.
Since these people all nodded, Qin Tao was unambiguous and contacted the country on the same day. On the third day, a navy delegation arrived.
Looking at the huge group of people, Duquesne was very excited. The Navy was also worried about what to do with the aircraft carrier after it was decommissioned. The suggestions he provided were exactly what the Navy wanted. Therefore, the Clemenceau aircraft carrier Captain Philip, with his officers, greeted them warmly.
Zhang Zhen, Wang Qing, Sun Yu... Most of the people in the delegation are known to Qin Tao. They are the captains of the navy's main ships. They are led by Zheng Ming, the leader of the navy's equipment department. The size of this inspection group is That explains the problem.
Everyone is here to visit! The opportunity to visit the French aircraft carrier is so rare!
"Everyone is already standing on our flight deck. From here you can see the power of a war machine like an aircraft carrier." Philip enthusiastically introduced to everyone: "It is equipped with a Super Etendard fighter aircraft. It was built ten years ago. In this war, this kind of fighter aircraft exerted great power."
The aircraft carrier Clemenceau was docked at the Brest naval port, with its flags fluttering, and on the deck, a group of guests from the East were watching carefully.
“Is this a steam catapult?” Zhang Zhen stood at the front of the angled deck and pointed to the zipper-like thing under his feet.
"Yes, this is the most advanced steam catapult. Only this device can allow carrier-based aircraft to have high enough dispatch efficiency!" This time it was Duquesne's turn to speak.
Lao Maozi's aircraft carrier all jumps from the deck. The aircraft relies on its own power to slide directly up the **** and forcefully take off. Although the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier uses a catapult, it is now scrap metal.
Ejection takes off by external force.
In the era of propeller aircraft, carrier-based aircraft had low take-off and landing speeds and could easily take off and land on their own, but jet aircraft could not do so. They had to be propelled by external forces. Rocket boost, hydraulic boost, and finally steam boost were tried in the past. , is considered mature.
To put it simply, it is to place a cylinder under the aircraft carrier deck, and then let high-pressure air enter to push the piston of the cylinder to move, and the piston will then drive the aircraft above to take off.
The principle is simple but difficult to implement. The cylinder must be installed accurately, the high-pressure steam must be stored in a spherical container in advance, and even the sealing of the opening on the cylinder is a technical challenge.
In later generations, only the United States was able to manufacture such high-performance steam catapults. Even the French Charles de Gaulle used C-13 catapults purchased directly from the United States.
The catapult used on the Clemenceau aircraft carrier in front of us has poor performance.
Taking sealing as an example, the "filling strip" sealing method was used in the later period. The piston advances in the cylinder and drives a flexible metal strip to fill the gap to complete the sealing. Early cylinders only used rubber zippers. After a period of use, they had to be replaced due to wear and tear.
Only the arrogant French can talk about this kind of thing as high-end, but in fact, it has long been outdated.
However, since everyone is here to visit and travel, a few words of praise are appropriate.
All kinds of compliments made the French very happy. Amidst the compliments, they were visited one by one, including the ship island, hangar, and power cabin. Everyone walked on the aircraft carrier for a whole day without feeling anything. To exhaustion.
night.
In the restaurant of the base, a dinner was going on in a friendly atmosphere.
"Now, let us raise our glasses to welcome our colleagues from the East." Philip raised his glasses with enthusiasm: "Many of our French technologies have entered the East, including our 100mm naval guns, Sea Sidewinder missiles, and Dolphin helicopters. They have become the main equipment of the East, and let us wish that this aircraft carrier Clemenceau will become the most powerful warship in the East!"
“On behalf of the navy, I would like to thank France for its support. Thank you for gifting us the aircraft carrier free of charge.” Zheng Ming raised his wine glass.
"Everyone has seen it today. This aircraft carrier is very powerful, but if it is to be equipped for Dongfang, it will also need to be improved." Duquesne took advantage of this opportunity and made a request: "The aircraft carrier is We give it to you for free, but this is a modification issue..."
"Of course the modification must be carried out at our Mingzhou Shipbuilding Industry Group." Qin Tao took over the conversation: "We have modified a lot of equipment for the Navy, and we have also done a lot of work to modify the Minsk. Now, it can be used for the Navy Renovate this warship."
"No, no, no, you don't have the ability, you have to modify it in our shipyard." Duquesne almost couldn't breathe.
"What, remodeling it in your shipyard?" Qin Tao frowned: "Then we invite the navy over and provide round-trip travel and accommodation for the navy delegation. We get nothing? What you are doing is a bit excessive. Bar?"
“We give the warships to you for free, and the modifications must be done here. This is international practice.”
"Mr. Duquesne, what you are doing is so unethical. If there is no benefit, then we won't do it." Qin Tao was very angry.
Zheng Ming's face was not good-looking: "We just came here because we heard there was a free aircraft carrier, and now we have to spend money? Where does our navy have the funds! You businessmen are going too far. You are staring at us. Military expenses, our little expenses are just enough for daily expenses, and we can’t get a penny out of any excess!”
Duquesne was dumbfounded, and Philip was dumbfounded. Was the other party too naive, or was he too naive?
(End of this chapter)