Great Strait.
A fat airship slowly passed over Sumatra Island and flew over the strait between Sumatra Island and the Andaman Islands. In the four-seater cabin, two large telescopes poked out from the left and right sides. .
This is a Feilong IV reconnaissance airship produced by Ming Dynasty Feilong Company. Although Feilong Company has invested heavily in the research and development and manufacturing of aircraft, it has not completely abandoned airships. After all, this airship is Feilong Company's current cash cow and source of profit. As a capitalist, how could Zhuge Feilong struggle with profits?
Besides, current airships cannot be completely replaced by airplanes. The ultra-long endurance of airships alone is beyond the reach of current airplanes. Take Feilong Company's latest Feilong IV as an example. Although this type of airship has been reduced in size and load, it uses the latest radial engine and increased fuel tank capacity, so the airship's endurance and maximum flight speed are All increased a lot.
Without replenishment, the maximum range of this type of airship can reach 6,000 kilometers! And its maximum speed can reach an astonishing 120 kilometers/hour!
In addition, because the cabin of this type of airship is also designed to be more comfortable, better sealed, and equipped with heating and oxygen supply devices, it can perform high-altitude flight missions for a long time. The crew can even stay in the air for 10 consecutive days!
When the Malacca operation began, the Nanyang Fleet specially dispatched 18 Feilong IV airships for surveillance and reconnaissance. The ultra-long range allowed it to easily fly to the west of the Malacca Strait for repeated searches.
When the submarines deployed at the western entrance of the Malacca Strait discovered the British Grand Fleet, the Andaman Islands and Great Strait became the key search areas for these airships.
The four-seat cabin of this airship is similar to the front and rear seats of a car. Sitting in the front seat are the captain/pilot and co-pilot/communications officer. Sitting in the back seat are two lookouts who are using two aircraft mounted on the window. The large telescope on board scanned the sea surface vigilantly.
Because the British-Indian fleet had been discovered before, and the "First Air Battle" maneuvering around Sumatra to the west of Malacca also kept encountering British-Indian airships. So the ensuing Battle of Great Strait was almost a chess move!
The British and Indian fleets relied on their numerical advantage to seek a decisive battle with the "First Air Battle", while the "First Air Battle" relied on speed and air superiority to attack the British and Indian large fleets.
So last night, the reconnaissance airships on both sides rushed to the Grete Strait area like crazy... They all wanted to fly over the enemy fleet as soon as possible and keep a close eye on it!
"Look, the British airship formation!"
Suddenly, a formation of airships heading south from the Andaman Sea attracted the attention of the lookout. This airship formation was composed of a type of large airship that had never appeared near the Strait of Malacca before. There were 15 airships in total, forming two columns in the air and flying mightily. You can tell at a glance that this formation is definitely going to bomb the Ming Dynasty's fleet!
The captain of the Flying Dragon Type 4 airship quickly said to the co-pilot beside him: "Hurry up and send power to the headquarters... We have found a large formation of enemy airships, located above the Great Strait, numbering 15, heading south!"
"yes!"
The co-pilot responded, and then the sound of ticking sounded in the cabin. Before the telegram was finished, the lookout in the back seat started shouting again: "The British fleet! Battleships one, two, three, four, five, six... ten! His grandma's, ten battleships! The British old man Spend your money!"
The captain of the airship quickly stretched out his neck and looked down. Where was the enemy's battleship formation that he hadn't found yet? Someone yelled in the back seat again, "Old Zhang, look, what kind of battleship is this? It's not monarchy, it's not unyielding... It has five turrets, one of which is still amidships. Behind the chimney!"
"This is a new warship! The British have a new warship! Captain, the British have a new warship..."
At this time, the captain of the airship also used his telescope to see ten "Victory" class battleships moving south quickly in double columns on the sea!
The appearance of this type of battleship is very unique
, adopting a five-turret layout of "three in the front, one in the middle, and one in the back", it is obviously a new ship. And new battleships often mean greater firepower and greater host power!
This news must be reported to the airship headquarters of the Nanyang Fleet immediately!
...
Almost at the same time, the reconnaissance airship sent by the British had also discovered the "First Air Battle" formation!
The airship discovered in the "First Air War" was a 140-meter-long large airship, belonging to the Royal Indian Navy Air Force. It was a so-called "command airship", which meant that the aviation commander could ride directly on the airship. An airship that can command air strikes or even battles between surface ships - this idea seems quite strange, but at present, except for bad weather, nothing seems to threaten an airship flying in the sky. To have such a large airship command it from above, in George .Elu and James Hood both look good.
So last night, George Elliot boarded the "Command Airship" overnight and flew all the way from a secret base on the Andaman Islands to the south of Traeger Strait. He wanted to find the Ming Navy formation first and then take a good look at it. .
After searching south of the Great Strait for a while, the lookout on the airship on which George Elliot was riding actually discovered the "First Air War" wandering on the sea. Then George Yilu ordered the airship to fly near the Ming Navy formation to take a closer look.
As soon as I got closer, I discovered something strange.
"Commander, I found something strange!"
"Something strange?" George Yilu was stunned, "What is it?"
"I'm not sure. It's just that there are no airships on their airship mothership. There are also a lot of strange things that look like pallets... There are a lot of them!"
"Shelf truck?"
George Elliot was confused after hearing this, so he took a telescope and walked to the port window of the airship to see for himself. At first glance, he was immediately stunned.
"What kind of ship is this? There are two turrets on the bow, a flat plate on the stern, and a large protruding flat plate on the port side! That on the flat plate... what is that?"
It turns out that George Elliot saw the aircraft-carrying battlecruiser!
What confused him even more was the biplanes already lined up on the flight deck of the aircraft-carrying battlecruiser - these biplanes had folding wings, and the folding wings hadn't been lowered yet. So it doesn't look like an airplane at all, but like a wooden frame truck...
Of course, even if the folding wings are put down, George Yilu may not be able to recognize it as an airplane. Because the aircraft that have just appeared in Europe are all developed from delta gliders. They have a delta glider on the top and a pod on the bottom. Behind the pod is a rotary engine or an inline engine, and then a propeller is installed. , if it were not an airplane dropped from an airship, then there would be a tail fin behind the delta wing... That's basically it!
Of course, this kind of aircraft can fly, but its speed and take-off weight are completely different from those of the "wooden carriage" aircraft that George Elliot saw. They can't take off from an aircraft carrier, they can't carry many bombs, and the flight itself is a bit difficult.
That's why the Royal Naval Air Force commanded by George Elliot used airships to drop "manned gliding guided bombs" instead of using serious carrier-based aircraft to drop bombs.
George Elliot had come to his senses at this time and said to the people around him: "Quickly, power up the Victory and tell them that we have discovered the Ming Dynasty's formation. There are a total of 4 battleships that we have never seen before. There are also three airship carriers...and one strange battleship that I don’t know whether to call a battleship or an airship carrier. In addition, their airship seems to have taken off!"
