The aircraft carrier formation left Sanqing Military Port and entered the Milky Way Estuary, where it began aviation combat training.
At the same time, it was also to show the training effect to the two emperors and princes who came aboard.
The Supreme Emperor is the ultimate promoter of the aircraft carrier and naval aviation combat systems.
Prince Dashi is the planner and founder of the entire new naval ship system.
Most of the senior and middle-ranking officers in the Navy are fully aware of this.
Low-level officers and ordinary soldiers, as well as middle- and high-level officers, have all heard about it.
So today the entire fleet worked hard and strived to do their best in all training subjects.
And I sincerely hope that there will be no problems with those new aircraft.
The commanders of fleets and battleships are busy at their respective posts.
However, several middle- and high-level military governors were arranged to accompany Zhu Jingyuan and his grandson.
The name of the commander-in-chief of the double aircraft carrier formation is Zhu Jianxun, his military rank is major general, and his ancestor is from the royal family of Prince Xiang.
The Xiangwang line originated from Zhu Zhanyi, the fifth son of Renzong Zhu Gaochi and the half-brother of Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji.
Zhu Zhanyang, who was in charge of the country twice, missed the throne three times, lived through six emperors and seven dynasties, and died at the age of seventy-two.
Zhu Jianxun is the same generation as Zhu Jianyan, and can be regarded as Zhu Zhongliang's nephew and Zhu Jingyuan's uncle.
The content of the order made by the aircraft carrier fleet commander will be notified to Zhu Jianxun via phone.
Zhu Jianxun explained the purpose and situation to Zhu Zhongliang and his grandson.
The fleet first straightened out the wind direction and course, and the fleet speed gradually increased to thirty knots.
The aircraft carrier first releases the Type 5 single-engine fighter jets parked in the middle of the deck to alert the airspace of tens to hundreds of kilometers around the aircraft carrier itself.
Fight against surprise enemy planes that theoretically, in settings, should, maybe, might appear at any time.
Then a small reconnaissance aircraft with the same body as the Type 5 single-engine attack aircraft was released to search for suspicious ships within a range of 300 kilometers.
The aircraft carrier formation gradually reduced its speed to twenty knots, maintaining this alert attitude and continuing to sail outwards.
Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Zhongliang were in the command room on the deck, listening to the reports and introductions of Zhu Jianxun and the accompanying officers, observing the situation on the deck, and discussing aviation operations.
Zhu Jianxun was quite serious, but with obvious joy, and introduced to Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jingyuan:
"During the day when the weather is not particularly bad, our aircraft carrier formation warning circle can now reach 200 kilometers.
“It is simply impossible for a traditional gunboat fleet to get close to an aircraft carrier formation.
"The aircraft carrier formation can first discover the traditional fleet and can choose to keep a distance and attack, or bypass the opponent.
“The choice of decisive battle at sea is already in the hands of our aircraft carrier fleet.
"During the world war a few years ago, we and the Thai fleet did not have a real large-scale fight at all, because both we and they could choose to fight or not.
“The fleet commanders on both sides will choose to retreat and wait for a better opportunity when encountering the other side at a relatively unfavorable time.
"Now that we have aircraft carriers, as long as we find the enemy's fleet, we can directly launch an attack.
"The other party has no right to retreat or escape.
"The key is that no matter how fast the fleet runs, it cannot fly as fast as the plane. The enemy's fleet cannot escape even if it wants to."
Zhu Zhongliang nodded. He had understood this logic a long time ago, otherwise he would not be so supportive of the aircraft carrier:
“Yes, the right to choose battles is very important, so that the disadvantaged party cannot escape the decisive battle and forcibly drag it into the decisive battle at sea.
"If the opponent cannot resist it, there is a high probability that it will not be able to escape. The key aircraft carrier can also sneak attack and bomb the base."
During the second industrial revolution, naval ship power systems became more and more powerful, and the combat command system became more mature and perfect.
Especially after the invention of the radio communication system, naval commanders were able to truly control the entire fleet.
As a result, the difficulty of a decisive battle for the superior side in a naval battle to force the inferior side becomes increasingly higher and even becomes infinite.
At the same time, unless one party's technology has a huge gap that can form absolute suppression, using a naval fleet to block land bases is also an act of seeking death.
Battleships have limited defense, firepower, and supplies, while land bases are nearly unlimited.
Even if the artillery fleet has an absolute advantage, it cannot force the land enemy whose navy is relatively inferior to surrender.
After the Battle of Jutland in World War I, Britain controlled the North Sea. The German fleet hid in the port and could not come out, and the British navy had nothing to do with them.
The emergence of aircraft carriers provides relatively effective solutions to these problems.
Taranto and Pearl Harbor, flying planes from the sea to bomb the military ports, the aircraft carrier said it was really exciting to just run away after the attack.
The Coral Sea and Midway Island are fighting each other hundreds of kilometers apart. The aircraft carrier said that this is a new gameplay you have never seen before.
In Leyte Gulf and Cape Cape, the aircraft carriers said that I had sent Yamato Musashi to the bottom of the sea, and they still didn't know where I was.
Zhu Jingyuan listened to the conversation here and couldn't help but smile and remind:
“Under the current circumstances, we have absolute advantages in aircraft carriers and aviation.
“But we may not always be able to maintain this advantage, as our potential competitors are also engaged in related research.
“The gap between us will eventually change from presence versus absence to strength versus weakness.
"There are two completely different situations, strong versus weak and strong versus weak.
“So, unilateral use of the aircraft carrier fleet cannot be our ultimate goal.
“The ultimate goal of exploration and training is to take the enemy as an aircraft carrier formation.
“The aviation force should also be oriented with the enemy also having aircraft.
“When both sides are evenly matched, the navy’s artillery and aircraft are always weaker than their land-based counterparts.
"So don't get complacent."
Although Zhu Jingyuan had his own judgment, he felt that if he could continue to lead Ming Dynasty for decades, Taixi would have no chance of being evenly matched with Ming Dynasty.
When the gap between strength and weakness is large enough, it is not much different from having versus without.
But tactically, we must always pay attention to our opponents, and we must study and explore with an evenly matched mentality.
To avoid falling into the U.S. imperialist mindset of moving from sea to land.
Zhu Zhongliang nodded directly after hearing this, and also gave Zhu Jianxun a few instructions:
"Yes, we cannot be complacent, and we must not be careless and neglect the continuous reconnaissance and warning of the surrounding sea areas.
"There are no battleships in the formation now. If an enemy battleship is allowed to approach, the aircraft carrier will be at risk of being sunk."
Zhu Jianxun is indeed a little proud, but of course he has the awareness to maintain a normal mind and vigilance. What's more, the mentality and ideological work of officers and soldiers are originally the task of the military governor.
So Zhu Jianxun immediately promised and promised seriously:
"The general will understand that the fleet will always remain vigilant and ready to respond to emergencies at any time."
After the aircraft carrier formation sailed for half an hour, a peripheral reconnaissance aircraft sent a report, simulating the discovery of a suspicious ship.
The aircraft carrier immediately accelerated again and released more fighters at the same time, keeping alert and preparing to launch an attack.
This time, in addition to the mature Type 5 single-engine fighters and attack aircraft, several experimental twin-engine fighters and attack aircraft also took off at the end and began to participate in exercises and tests with the new aircraft.
After the aircraft carrier continued flying for more than half an hour, a fleet of forty aircraft was organized.
The original aircraft on the aircraft carrier deck are basically cleared, and the aircraft stored in the hangar are also being dispatched to the deck simultaneously.
Subsequent aircraft gathered in the middle and rear of the deck, and after accumulating a sufficient number, they were released in batches again.
At this time, a new training program arrived.
The reconnaissance plane sent another report, simulating the discovery of thunderstorm clouds ahead.
The aircraft carrier commander reacted immediately, stopped the aircraft release mission, and slightly adjusted the navigation direction.
Zhu Jianxun also explained to Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jingyuan that he wanted to avoid the simulated rain cloud area.
After hearing this, Zhu Zhongliang said with a little regret:
"It would be perfect if aircraft could operate in rainy days and at night. The current aircraft carrier formation still requires battleships to cooperate."
Now aircraft carriers and aircraft are not complete and cannot operate at night in relatively complex sea conditions, but battleships can.
The key is that at the current level of technology, if you want to fight battleships at close range, you can still only rely on battleships.
Aircraft carriers cannot avoid night navigation, nor can they completely avoid encountering severe apocalypse and sea conditions.
In order to deal with the enemy battleships encountered in this situation, there must also be battleships accompanying the action.
Zhu Jingyuan thought for a while and said:
“The night and rainy operations of aircraft and aircraft carriers can be gradually realized through technology and training.
"An aircraft that can operate at night and under complex weather conditions can be called an all-weather aircraft, and the corresponding aircraft carrier can also be called an all-weather aircraft carrier. Aircraft carriers are more complex than aircraft.
“Relevant research preparations have been ongoing, but it still takes a lot of time to implement.
"The main technical difficulties are detection and communication, and the main exploration and training directions are the cooperation of radio detection, radio communications, and aircraft and aircraft carrier photoelectric signal systems."
When Zhu Jingyuan said this, he subconsciously looked at Zhu Jianxuan and several other officers.
Zhu Jingyuan was worried that there would be deviations in their understanding, so when he said this, he immediately added a few words and warned:
“The realization of all-weather aircraft and aircraft carriers is indispensable for technology and training.
“Key skills are the prerequisite for training, and pure hard training is a joke on life and equipment.
"Therefore, without notification from the Ministry of Industry and the Governor's Office, the fleet should not attempt relevant exercises on its own.
“However, we can allow officers, pilots, and air crews to think differently based on the current training situation.
"Accumulate and summarize various ideas and assumptions and submit them to the Ministry of Industry and the Governor's Office for them to verify and test on the ground."
The warlords led by Zhu Jianxun did have an idea just now, and they were planning to increase night and rainy day training after returning.
This is not only to achieve the goal of the Supreme Emperor, but also to achieve the ideal goal of the aircraft carrier formation.
Wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and of course there are different factions in the naval system.
Of course, under normal circumstances, the differences between different factions are just different naval combat concepts and differences in the ideal combat methods they pursue.
The Ming Dynasty's court and military system can still be considered relatively healthy, and there are no life-and-death hostile factions.
After the formation of the aircraft carrier, a group of aircraft carrier factions have naturally differentiated in the navy.
Many of them were cruiser transfers.
There was once a group of people who believed that only a cruiser with a large enough range could completely control and use the ocean.
These officers believe that the aircraft carrier is a complete cruiser and the absolute protagonist on the ocean.
Of course, there are also those who transferred from the battleship faction.
Aircraft carriers have ultra-high speeds, super reconnaissance, and ultra-long-range strikes, and can suppress traditional gunboats in a dimensional manner.
They think big ships and big guns are obsolete!
Of course, most of them are centrists, or traditionalists.
It originally agreed with the composite fleet system. After discovering the important role of the aircraft carrier, it believed that the aircraft carrier should be classified as a capital ship equivalent to the battleship.
Different people have different ideas about the changes in the positioning of battleships after the emergence of aircraft carriers.
However, no matter which source it comes from, most officers in the aircraft carrier department are already aware of the problems in aircraft carrier operations.
So I subconsciously want to carry out relevant training and try to train and fight in bad weather and at night.
Let your fleet evolve to perfection.
Now after hearing Zhu Jingyuan's last words, Zhu Jianxun and several warlords immediately gave up those thoughts.
If the hardware requirements are not met, messing around will kill people.
Zhu Jianxun quickly agreed, saying that he had written it all down and would tell the commanders to pay attention later.
The aircraft carrier formation adjusted its navigation according to the simulated rain cloud area position, and soon after entering a stable navigation state again, the command sent another message.
Start the small-angle crosswind takeoff test.
This test is actually relatively difficult, and its application scope is relatively narrow.
The aircraft carrier is not a road-based airport and you can choose your own navigation angle.
Theoretically, you can always keep facing the direction of the incoming wind, allowing the aircraft to always take off in the most suitable wind direction.
After Zhu Jianxun received the notice, he explained to Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jingyuan at the same time:
“Deliberately flying the aircraft slightly sideways to the wind direction is to simulate special situations that may be encountered in actual combat.
“When you find an enemy at a relatively close distance, you need to keep distance from the enemy and continue to fly aircraft to meet the enemy.
“Or you need to avoid rain clouds while continuing to fly aircraft to fight the approaching enemy.
"This kind of training program places very high demands on pilots and is also dangerous."
Zhu Jingyuan was a little surprised when he heard this explanation. He really didn't expect this kind of training.
Moreover, Zhu Jingyuan has a modern thinking and knows some unnecessary face-saving projects.
So after listening to the explanation, I subconsciously asked and reminded:
"Has the corresponding test been conducted on land? Can the participating pilots complete this kind of takeoff and landing on land?
"If you have not practiced on the ground, you should never engage in such a test project directly on the aircraft carrier.
“Don’t deliberately show more thrilling projects just because my grandpa and I are here.
"Soldiers can train hard to prepare for battle, but they don't need to take risks and perform unique tricks and acrobatics for us.
"Pilots are the most precious talents now. We must not let them take risks outside the battlefield."
Zhu Jianxun and the surrounding warlords felt warm in their hearts when they heard Zhu Jingyuan's reminder.
Prince Dashi, who is recognized as having the most potential, is indeed the most trustworthy and followed prince.
As long as he is here, officers like myself and even the soldiers below will not suffer in the next few decades.
Zhu Jianxun immediately smiled and said:
"Don't worry, Your Highness, the Governor's Mansion is training according to the plan you made.
“Things that have not been tried on the ground will never be directly transferred to the aircraft carrier.
"Especially the projects presented to His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness, they must have been trained proficiently."
Zhu Zhongliang next to him also smiled and said:
“Jingyuan, don’t worry, when high-level officials like us come to inspect, they will be as conservative as possible.
"They will never take risks just for the limelight. You'll know that when you get to their age."
Zhu Jianxun suddenly smiled a little sheepishly.
Zhu Jingyuan finally relaxed and looked at the plane on the deck with Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianxun.
The takeoff procedure was the same as usual, but flags indicating wind direction were hung at several locations on the deck.
After an aircraft was ready in the middle of the deck, it accelerated towards the destination.
Since the wind comes from the side, the aircraft must always keep turning in order to keep the deck pointing in the wind direction.
When accelerating to the front of the deck, the aircraft fuselage was already tilting significantly.
But after crossing the deck, it finally flew steadily and quickly raised towards the direction of the wind.
The three planes that followed also took off in the same attitude.
Zhu Jingyuan watched them take off one after another and began to hover steadily over the aircraft carrier, and subconsciously shouted:
"good!"
Zhu Zhongliang also nodded with satisfaction.
Then there was the crosswind landing training. The four planes were obviously veterans and they all stopped firmly on the deck.
The whole process was uneventful, and I just highlighted one good technique.
Zhu Jingyuan couldn't help but applaud them again, but he didn't mention any extra rewards at all.
Pilots with good skills must have already received the rewards they usually receive, and there is no need to pay them specially.
The key is that by showing them like this now, they ultimately mean to show it to themselves.
If you give extra rewards at this time, it may have the effect of encouraging them to show off their skills in front of them.
Zhu Jingyuan didn't want that effect, so he didn't make any indication.
(End of chapter)
