India, Mumbai, Koh Chang Jetty.
"This, is this an aircraft carrier?"
"Yes, my Majesty, this is our aircraft carrier!"
"But it's too small, isn't it? Who built it?"
Emperor William, standing on the side deck of the ironclad Warrior, looked at a "baby aircraft carrier" driven by four oars and felt incredible.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, this is an aircraft carrier!" Indian Imperial War Secretary Marquis Nelson told Emperor William in a very positive tone, "This is an aircraft carrier built by the Hindustan Shipbuilding Company based on a complete set of drawings and technical information provided by the British Thomson Shipyard.. ....Ensure excellent quality!”
"The quality is so good?" Emperor William almost made Marquis Nelson angry. "How can an aircraft carrier be so small? Those Indians must have cut corners... Also, how come this aircraft carrier is rowed with oars? My Marquis, are you confused? Do you think this kind of aircraft carrier rowed by oars can go to sea and fight? "
This emperor is quite imaginative. No matter how unreliable the Hindustan Shipyard is, it is impossible to turn a 20,000-ton aircraft carrier into a 200-ton sampan carrier!
In fact, Hindustan Shipyard really did not cut corners this time, but completed the construction of the aircraft carrier in full compliance with the drawings and design requirements while maintaining quality and quantity. Moreover, the time it took to build this aircraft carrier was also very short. It took only twenty days from the start of construction to delivery.
"Your Majesty, this aircraft carrier should be this small," Marquis Nelson said to Emperor William with great certainty. "The aircraft carrier is not an airship carrier, nor is it an aircraft carrier battleship. There is no need to build it too big. Because the airship is big, The battleship itself is also very large, so the airship carrier and aircraft-carrying battleship have to be large.
How big does a plane need to be? A flight deck of sixty to seventy feet (18-20 meters) is enough, and a flight deck of several hundred feet is not needed at all. "
What Nelson said makes sense!
Why do aircraft carriers have to be built bigger? If it can carry aircraft to fight in theory, it is an aircraft carrier, but it does not necessarily have to be a big thing with more than 10,000 tons.
Nelson then analyzed: "Furthermore, a flight deck of several hundred feet must be installed on a large ship with a standard displacement of about 20,000 tons. Such a large ship is a huge target in wartime and can easily be discovered and sunk by the enemy. .
But this 200-ton aircraft carrier is different. Its target is small, difficult to find and hit, and its value is very low. If the aircraft is not on the deck, its value is not even as good as a hanging ship. A fishing boat with a sail will not necessarily be bombed even if it is discovered by enemy planes... It is not even as expensive as a torpedo or a 200-pound bomb. "
Marquis Nelson was really right! There are very few people in this world who would fly a plane and launch a dive bomb on a 200-ton wooden boat... That thing is so small, even if 10 bombs are dropped, it may not hit. Isn't this wasteful?
"As for the issue of going to sea to fight..." Nelson continued, "This aircraft carrier is towed by a destroyer, so its own power is dispensable. When launching carrier-based aircraft, the destroyer can pull it The aircraft carrier gallops against the wind at a speed of 28 or even 30 knots, so that the carrier-based aircraft can use the 60-70-foot flight deck to complete takeoff."
"So that's it!" Emperor William nodded, gaining knowledge! It turns out that an aircraft carrier is a small boat of two to three hundred tons that has no mechanical power and can only be towed by a destroyer or driven by a paddle...
"But can this carrier-based aircraft land on such a small deck?" Emperor William immediately realized something was wrong. "I remember that this aircraft has to glide a long distance when landing, right?"
"Your Majesty, you are right." Nelson raised his finger and pointed to the plane on the 200-ton aircraft carrier. "Look...it is a seaplane with two pontoons underneath. When it is retracted, First it landed on the water, and then a special aircraft crane was hoisted onto the aircraft carrier. Your Majesty, look over there, that is the special aircraft crane. It is larger than the aircraft carrier, with a displacement of about 500 tons, and is equipped with Steam engines can also run long distances, but the maximum speed is only 13 knots, and they can usually only run 10 knots. If you want to keep up with the fast fleet, you have to rely on other ships to tow it."
Emperor William looked in the direction of Nelson's finger again, and it turned out to be a small steamboat equipped with a boom.
"Marquis, how many aircraft carriers do we have now?" Emperor William asked again, "Can you support our Indian navy in launching a counterattack against the Ming Empire?"
Marquis Nelson said: "We now have 20 aircraft carriers and 10 aircraft crane ships...Another 20 aircraft carriers are being built at the Hindustan Shipyard, and they will all be completed within a month."
This is really a highlight moment for Hindustan Shipyard. Construction of 40 aircraft carriers started at one time. It took up to 2 months from the start of construction to delivery. The 40 aircraft carriers were completed while maintaining quality and quantity!
"That's 40 aircraft carriers, which should be enough!" Emperor William nodded, "But can each aircraft carrier be equipped with carrier-based aircraft?"
"Yes!" Marquis Nelson said, "The pilots are being trained in the UK and will be shipped to India together with the carrier-based aircraft in a month. By then, our fleet will have sufficient air power."
"That's great!" Emperor William breathed a sigh of relief and asked Nelson with a smile, "Marquis, how are we going to use these 40 aircraft carriers? Are we going to use them to counterattack the Strait of Malacca?"
"No," Marquis Nelson shook his head. "The Duke of Wellington and Viscount Palmerston estimated based on the conditions insisted on by the Ming Dynasty negotiators at the Vienna Peace Conference that the focus of the Ming Dynasty's next phase of attack will not be India, but Australia!"
Nelson paused and then said: "So I think that our next step should be to quietly transfer the main force of the fleet to Australia, and then set up defenses in the Port Moresby area of Papua New Guinea, which is the gateway to Australia's east coast and also The starting point for our counterattack from the South Pacific to the north. If Ming Dynasty wants to take Australia and New Zealand by force, then they must first control Port Moresby.
Therefore, fierce naval battles will break out in the Solomon Sea northeast of Port Moresby and the Coral Sea southeast of Port Moresby! If we can win there, the expansion of the Ming Empire will be curbed. Otherwise, we risk losing all of Australia! "
Emperor William frowned and said: "Marquis, if Ming Dynasty chooses to attack India instead of attacking Australia next, what should we do? Once the main force of the Grand Fleet leaves, India's coastline will lose protection! By then, they can land in India in large numbers what to do?"
Nelson said: "If they don't attack Australia and choose to target India, then we can attack from Australia!"
"Where can we attack from Australia?" Emperor William asked. "Again Japan?"
"No," Nelson shook his head, "Japan is not a good target...I think Hawaii would be an ideal target."
"Hawaii?" Emperor William thought for a moment, "What's there?"
"There is the home port of the Ming Navy's Pacific Fleet!" Marquis Nelson said. "The Ming Dynasty's Pacific Fleet is responsible for supporting the operations of the Mexican Empire and the Texas Japanese Self-Defense Force... and is very likely to be directly responsible for commanding the Texas Maritime Self-Defense Force. So. Pearl Harbor in Hawaii is a very important stronghold. Not only is it stationed with a large number of ships, it is also a logistics transfer center.
Once Pearl Harbor in Hawaii is attacked by us, Ming Dynasty will suffer heavy losses, and operations in the entire American direction will also be affected. The Americans will also take the opportunity to launch an offensive in the direction of Texas!
In this way, the Ming Empire had to promote operations in the Australian direction to ensure the security of the Pacific supply line. And as long as Australia starts fighting, the Indian Empire can rest easy! "
