Zhu Jingyuan also smiled amidst the laughter. After the scene returned to silence, he looked at the other three semi-finished drawings:
"That's it for the battleship. Now let's talk about the aircraft carrier..."
The craftsmen immediately cheered up again and prepared to listen to Zhu Jingyuan's direct analysis.
In terms of battleship design, craftsmen also have some original experience to draw from.
But in aircraft carrier design, everything is air-to-air.
Not even sure what counts as radical and what counts as conservative.
Only Zhu Jingyuan's vision and ideas were very clear.
Regarding the aircraft carrier design in three directions, most craftsmen have their own judgments, but they all want to hear Zhu Jingyuan's interpretation.
Zhu Jingyuan flipped through several huge drawings and looked at the differences between the three designs again.
“Plan No. 1 is a pontoon-type open hangar equipped with a large in-string elevator.
"The hangar and runway are not part of the ship's hull and are not subject to stress.
“The hangar is like a container, placed directly above the ship body, and the box is covered with a layer of boards, which is the flight runway.
“This structure is the drawback of this design.
“The hangar and flight deck do not participate in the support of the hull, and may shake or even require deformation joints.
“The actual top deck of the ship itself is actually the floor underneath the hangar.
“The hull also requires additional weight to strengthen the structure.
“But that’s also her strength.
“The hangar is not a support structure of the ship body, so it can be expanded as large as possible without leaving too many support structures around it.
“The hangar can be opened relatively freely.
“The lift can be made large enough, and large rolling shutter doors can be used on both sides of the hangar, so that the hangar can be fully opened at any time.
"Most aircraft can be warmed up in a hangar."
Plan No. 1 is almost an enlargement of the historical Essex-class aircraft carrier, and then adds flight deck armor.
Or the Midway, whose full load displacement is reduced to 40,000 tons.
Zhu Jingyuan muttered a few words very casually. Seeing that the craftsmen had no intention of asking questions, he took out the second overview drawing:
“Plan No. 2 is a built-in double-layer enclosed hangar with a medium-sized elevator inside.
“The hangar and flight deck are integral parts of the ship’s hull and are subject to forces.
"The hangar frame and flight deck are both involved in the support and fixation of the hull structure. The actual top deck of the hull is the flight deck.
“The characteristics of Plan 2 are exactly the opposite of Plan 1.
"This design can save the weight of the ship structure. According to our previous calculations, it can reduce about 1,500 tons.
"With the same tonnage, the hull of Plan 2 will be stronger, and the overall defense level will of course be higher.
“But it’s also her flaw.
“Since the hangar is used as a support structure for the ship body, it cannot be opened and disassembled at will.
“The size of the hangar is also limited as a result, and the size of the elevator is also limited, so only a limited number of exhaust outlets can be specially installed.
"Only some aircraft can be warmed up in the hangar."
Plan 2 is similar to the original design of the historical British Daring class aircraft carrier.
The craftsmen themselves basically understand the differences between the two plans, and they just want to think about how Zhu Jingyuan will choose in the end and how to convince the craftsmen.
Then, Zhu Jingyuan pulled out the last drawing:
“Plan No. 3 has a built-in single-story enclosed large hangar and a large side lift.
“Compared with Plan 2, the double-story short hangar was changed into a single-story large hangar, and the in-string elevator was changed into a side elevator.
“According to our current concept, when the aircraft enters and exits the hangar, it will not affect deck scheduling and take-off and landing.
“So the deck scheduling efficiency of Plan 3 should be the highest.
“At the same time, the size of the aircraft used can exceed the size of the lift.
“The key to an aircraft carrier’s combat capability is its aircraft, and aircraft will definitely be continuously upgraded in the future.
"Plan 3 can operate larger aircraft in the future, and the upgrade potential should be better."
What Zhu Jingyuan said seemed to make sense, and the craftsmen nodded as they all realized the special features of Plan No. 3.
The No. 3 structure is the strongest, and other parameters seem to be mid-range and upward, with greater potential.
But for Zhu Jingyuan himself, this is actually shooting an arrow first and then drawing a target.
This No. 3 design is the typical structure of a modern aircraft carrier except that it does not have an angled deck and a catapult.
As long as it is made under normal quality levels, it can last for at least thirty years, or even fifty years.
After the super aircraft carrier comes out, it can still be modified and used as an anti-submarine and training light aircraft carrier until its own mechanical structure cannot bear it.
The historical Essex-class aircraft carrier Lexington was in service from 1943 until it was decommissioned in 1991, a total of forty-eight years.
The No. 3 aircraft carrier plan designed by Zhu Jingyuan and his craftsmen is fundamentally much better than the Essex class and will definitely last for fifty years.
Zhu Jingyuan paused for a moment after talking about Plan No. 3, and finally analyzed the situation of the three plans as a whole:
“These three aircraft carrier plans have basically the same full load displacement, 40,000 tons.
“Both used armored flight decks.
“Because the defense structure of an aircraft carrier is completely different from that of a battleship, the main threat will definitely come from aircraft of the same type.
“In order to defend against incoming weapons from the air, it is very necessary to lay armor on the flight deck.
“Overall, let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of the three options.
“Plan No. 1 has the lowest defense because it requires extra weight to maintain the structural shape of the hull.
“Predicted sorties are the most efficient because the aircraft can be prepared in advance in the hangar, adjusted to its condition and sent to the deck to take off directly.
“Plan No. 2 has the largest aircraft capacity because it has a two-story medium-sized hangar with the largest hangar capacity.
“The dispatch efficiency is predicted to be the lowest, and the double-layer hangar and small elevator make the aircraft mobilization and maintenance process more cumbersome.
“Plan No. 3 has the best defense, the strongest structure, the best navigation performance, and the most complete main structure of the hull.
“Forecast sortie efficiency is above average because her lifts are outside the deck and there is more significant future potential to be tapped.
"If no one has any special ideas, I think it's better to choose No. 3."
The target aircraft carrier officially designed by Ming craftsmen has a full load displacement of 40,000 tons.
This directly exceeds the typical main fleet aircraft carrier during World War II.
Whether to lay armor on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier was a very iconic option in World War II aircraft carriers.
If there are no other restrictions, of course the thicker the paving, the better.
In actual design, a series of issues such as the scale of the aircraft carrier itself, the weight of the hull structure and armor, and the center of gravity must be considered.
Generally speaking, the larger the tonnage and scale of an aircraft carrier, the more cost-effective it is to lay flight deck armor.
The node worth laying an armored flight deck is almost at the level of 30,000 tons.
Therefore, Zhu Jingyuan's 40,000-ton aircraft carriers all use armored flight decks. Not using armored flight decks is a waste of tonnage.
According to the informal definition of future generations, these three plans are all armored aircraft carriers.
Among the naval countries at that time, there was no concept of "armored aircraft carrier" and no classification of ship types.
Regardless of whether flight deck armor is laid or not, the names are fleet aircraft carrier, main aircraft carrier, etc.
Other main fleet aircraft carriers only have no armor on the flight deck. The deck under the hangar and both sides of the hull usually have a certain amount of armor.
Relative to the later name of armored aircraft carrier, these aircraft carriers are habitually collectively referred to as protected aircraft carriers.
A truly completely unarmored aircraft carrier is an escort aircraft carrier converted from the lowest-level merchant ship, with a tonnage of only a few thousand.
At the same time, whether to lay flight deck armor will have no direct and obvious impact on the aircraft carrier's air capacity and combat capabilities.
There is no such thing as an "armored aircraft carrier" that is definitely less capable than a conventional aircraft carrier.
This misunderstanding may be caused by the "balance settings" of some games.
According to the American experience on the Midway-class aircraft carrier, when the number of aircraft carried by an aircraft carrier exceeds one hundred, the dispatch efficiency will plummet.
A 40,000-ton aircraft carrier is enough to operate a hundred typical World War II-era aircraft.
If it were not for the use of larger-scale carrier-based aircraft, the 40,000-ton aircraft carrier would have been the ideal design for World War II.
A larger-tonnage ordinary aircraft carrier using the same aircraft will not have greater combat capabilities than a 40,000-ton armored aircraft carrier.
Ordinary craftsmen may still hesitate between the three options, but Zhu Jingyuan had already made his choice when explaining the design ideas to the craftsmen.
Faced with an aircraft carrier that is still full of World War II characteristics, of course we must choose the most modern plan No. 3.
Regarding Zhu Jingyuan's choice, most of the craftsmen silently nodded in agreement.
But there are also a few craftsmen who have their own understanding.
A middle-aged craftsman in his forties couldn't help but ask:
"Your Highness, after comprehensively judging the overall advantages and disadvantages of each plan, of course you can choose Plan No. 3.
“But the problem is that the dispatch efficiency of aircraft, this parameter, and the weight of this parameter in aircraft carrier operations directly affect the value of Plan No. 1.
“We currently have no way of confirming the specific range of this weight, but it will obviously be relatively high.
"Compared with potential and the future, dispatch rate may be the most important data at the moment."
Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly and said:
"I understand that the Dinghai aircraft carrier, which is already under construction locally, adopts a design similar to Plan 1.
“You can use this aircraft carrier for actual verification in the future, and adjust the parameters for simulation after obtaining the data.
"If it turns out that sortie efficiency is really important, those differences in sortie efficiency can outweigh all other advantages.
“Then our subsequent aircraft carrier construction may be based on Plan No. 1.
"In the event that these data cannot be accurately judged, my decision is to temporarily adopt Plan 3."
The middle-aged craftsman thought for a while, and finally slightly arched his hands and said:
"Follow His Highness's arrangements..."
Zhu Jingyuan nodded slightly and announced loudly and solemnly:
“Now that the designs of the battleships and aircraft carriers have been finalized, I would like to ask you all to work hard and draw the final drawings.
“The follow-up battleship team can start pre-development of a 60,000-ton battleship, and the aircraft carrier team can start pre-development of a 60,000-ton aircraft carrier.
“These two tasks are not definite formal tasks, so there are no deadline requirements. They can be regarded as long-term tasks in the next few years.
"After this negotiation is over, I will go to the Dashi Country, and I will need to say goodbye to you for a while. I will say goodbye to you in advance today."
The craftsmen listened to the previous instructions, nodded seriously and were eager to try.
Hearing the last sentence, they were all shocked again.
Many people suddenly realized that Zhu Jingyuan was actually a vassal king and theoretically had his own feudal kingdom.
Theoretically, Zhu Jingyuan could go to the vassal state and live in the country of Dashi.
Wang Lai, the director of the Ship Department, subconsciously asked:
"Your Highness, are you going to the Dashi Kingdom... just for a visit, or are you preparing to leave the domain? How long will you stay there?"
The craftsmen were quite worried about Zhu Jingyuan.
After more than half a year of running-in, the craftsmen have great trust in Zhu Jingyuan.
The craftsmen were deeply impressed by the large number of ideas and creativity put forward by Zhu Jingyuan.
Flying machine design, flying machine weapon design, weighted artillery shell design, case-hardened hooded armor-piercing projectile design, new armor formulas, and all battleship design concepts.
These things all show that Zhu Jingyuan is an absolute genius in weapons and equipment engineering.
Under the guidance of Zhu Jingyuan, the research and development speed of related projects is almost as fast as flying.
It would be too much of a waste for such a talented prince to become a vassal in Dashi.
After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan smiled and said:
“Whether we go to conquer the feudal clan or not depends on the subsequent situation, and we can’t say for sure yet.
"But even if I become a vassal, I won't stop getting involved in various new inventions and designs.
"Now that telegrams have been sent to the whole world, if you have anything to ask in the future, you can send a telegram to me directly.
“Actually, when I went to Big Food Country, I had many ideas that I wanted to realize.
“In a few years, you should see exciting new things, and I will have to apply for a lot of patents.
"Okay, that's it for today. You all continue to work hard, and I'll go back first."
In the blank and reluctant eyes of the craftsmen, Zhu Jingyuan took Guan Tianpei back to the palace where he lived.
I was walking in the big courtyard where I had lived for half a year, and when I passed the courtyard where the slaves lived, I took a look inside.
Sisters An Xiaona and Luo Feiya have gone to school, and there are some washed clothes hanging to dry in the yard.
Sister An Xiaona did her own laundry, and Luo Feiya followed suit.
In addition to Ming Dynasty-style clothing, there are also Thai and Western-style girls' skirts from a few years ago, which should be Luo Feiya's.
When Zhu Jingyuan looked at these things, he thought of typical women's skirts, plaid pleated skirts and various styles of uniforms from later generations.
Zhu Jingyuan once again realized that he could not only design "capitalist" suits, but also women's suits and college suits.
This way, we have men's and women's clothing, and we can try it out in the Thai and Western markets.
Thinking further, he could use the huge influence of the Ming Dynasty royal family to set up a luxury clothing and jewelry brand in the West.
Use Ming Dynasty's traditional fashion and these novel modern clothes to open up sales as a leading product.
Cutting the wool of the powerful, bourgeoisie, and middle class of Europe and the West.
It can even stimulate the division between the Minghua elements and the Thai ethnic elements in their society.
There are also modern high heels, which are obviously not high enough in this era.
This thing will affect physical development. In this era, both Thai and Western men and women wear it, and it may have unexpected effects.
Zhu Jingyuan's idea was perfected again, and then he considered the situation in the food country. It is the territory of the food country, and there may not be anyone who knows about Thai and Western clothing.
So Zhu Jingyuan found the housekeeper and asked him to go to the outer city of Huangzhuang in Xiyang Cape to find tailors, cobblers, and shoemakers who knew about Western clothing.
You have to let them make the clothes they envisioned and see how they turn out.
