Chapter 441 Chaotic Order

If Arthur remembers correctly, the first real aircraft carrier of Britain should have been built in the late period of World War I, around 1917 to 1918.

At that time, the British aircraft carrier was converted from a cruiser, but the main gun at the front was cancelled and replaced with a downward-sloping wooden runway.

Such a design has too many defects, which is why aircraft carriers gradually became the first choice of warships of various countries during World War II.

But the second aircraft carrier design of the Sydney Royal Dockyard can well solve the defects of aircraft carriers converted from cruisers or battleships.

Under Arthur's decision, in addition to the construction of a new round of two super dreadnoughts, Australasia also built two more giant-class aircraft carriers.

The giant-class aircraft carrier is a brand-new warship design, not the British aircraft carrier converted from battleships and cruisers.

According to the preliminary design of the Giant-class aircraft carrier, the standard displacement of this new warship is about 11,500 tons, and the full-load displacement exceeds 13,000 tons, which is far behind the tonnage of current battleships.

You should know that the current mainstream super dreadnought has a full-load displacement of nearly or even more than 20,000 tons.

This also makes the volume of the Giant-class aircraft carrier smaller than the Hope-class battleship, and it does not even have the numerous main guns of previous warships.

The Sydney Royal Dockyard designed a full-through flight deck for the Giant-class aircraft carrier, which allows aircraft to take off and land better on the aircraft carrier.

At the same time, this aircraft carrier also has a closed bow, which can better resist wind and waves and strengthen the strength of the full-through deck.

In this way, the length and width of the Giant-class aircraft carrier are 180 meters and 21.5 meters respectively, with a draft of 5.7 meters, and can carry a full 20 aircraft.

Because all the main guns were abandoned and only a small number of anti-aircraft weapons were equipped, the Giant-class aircraft carrier lost a considerable amount of weight and its speed was also improved under the premise of having the same power system as the super dreadnought.

The estimated speed of the Giant-class aircraft carrier can reach 25.5 knots, which is relatively fast among a large number of warships.

Of course, although it has been decided to build two Giant-class aircraft carriers, Arthur and the Australasian government will not take the initiative to disclose the news of the aircraft carrier before other countries expose the aircraft carrier.

Arthur will not do such a stupid thing to strengthen other countries, although Australasian has already achieved a considerable lead in aircraft.

You know, the combat effectiveness of an aircraft carrier basically depends on the number and performance of carrier-based aircraft. And Australasian aircraft are all the most advanced in the world, far exceeding the aircraft development progress of other countries.

It also means that even if the development progress of Australasian aircraft carriers is the same as that of other countries, the actual combat effectiveness of aircraft carriers will far exceed that of other countries.

With the official start of construction of the aircraft carrier, it also began a three-month inspection trip to the states and regions of Australasia.

This inspection trip was to check whether the states and colonies were affected by the war, as well as the real living standards of the people.

Another thing was to urge the state governments to improve the reserves of strategic materials, medical supplies, etc. If Arthur remembered correctly, the famous Spanish flu would come in a few years.

Arthur's memory of this flu was too deep. On the one hand, such a popular virus made a comeback, and on the other hand, the number of infections and deaths caused by the Spanish flu was quite exaggerated.

Arthur still clearly remembers that the Spanish flu caused at least 500 million infections and at least 20 million deaths.

Until then, the world's total population was only about 1.7 billion, and one in every three people was infected with the Spanish flu, and one in every 100 people died from the Spanish flu.

What's more terrifying is that the death toll of the Spanish flu is not accurate, but it is definitely more than the number reported and counted by various countries.

If Arthur remembered correctly, the spread of the Spanish flu was just when the First World War ended and soldiers from various countries returned home.

Because of the long and exhausting war, all countries were spreading the good news of victory in the war, and did not spread news that was enough to panic the people, such as the Spanish flu.

As the first country to honestly break the news of the outbreak of influenza in its own country, Spain was naturally blamed by countries around the world, and the flu was named Spanish influenza, which is the famous Spanish flu.

But in fact, the earliest recorded Spanish flu occurred in a military camp in Kansas, USA, followed by cases of influenza in France, Britain and other countries.

It can only be said that Spain became the scapegoat, otherwise this flu would be named American flu or European flu.

The most terrifying thing about the Spanish flu is that it killed more than 20 million people.

Even the First World War, which lasted for several years, had only more than 10 million deaths in history.

When such a disease brings more casualties to mankind than the world wars covering the world, it is enough to prove how terrible this flu is.

Arthur did not dare to guarantee that he could completely resist the disease. He could only ask the government to prepare enough medical supplies in advance and be ready to close the borders during the epidemic to survive the disaster as much as possible.

As for the life and death of other countries, it was not something Arthur could control for the time being.

While Arthur's national inspection was in full swing, the war in Europe became very anxious and fierce again.

As time slowly came to October 1916, Germany and Britain and France once again engaged in fierce battles in Verdun and the Somme River area. The number of casualties in various countries continued to increase every day, even step-by-step.

But the most difficult country should be the Russian Empire, which has now entered the cold.

Although it was only October, most of the territory of Tsarist Russia had become cold, and St. Petersburg and Moscow in the north had become a country of ice and snow, covering this ancient city with a layer of white.

If it were in the past, the Russians would have been accustomed to such cold. But now it is different. Because of the consumption of the war, the lower-class people lack coal, food and daily necessities, and their lives are particularly difficult.

In fact, the Russians are not short of money. Their salaries have increased compared to before the war, and the per capita income has even increased by several percentages.

But the problem is that compared with the increase in Russian salaries, the increase in Russian prices is more exaggerated.

Because of the shortage of supplies, most of the large amount of supplies shipped from Britain, France and Australasia were transferred to the front.

Some supplies that were not in short supply at the front were sold at sky-high prices in China and were held in the hands of capitalists. It was impossible to buy them without spending a lot of money.

Even the coal resources that the Russian people urgently needed for heating increased more than five times in just two years.

The lower-class Russian civilians faced a difficult choice, either to buy coal for heating or to buy food to fill their stomachs.

They could only choose one of the two options because their salaries could only buy one of them.

Out of helplessness, many Russian people crowded together with their neighbors and leaned on each other for heating to resist the coming winter.

Even many families pooled money to buy coal, and then dozens of people squeezed into a small house of more than ten square meters. The red light from the gaps in the stove illuminated everyone's face, but it could not cover up the sadness on people's faces at all.

Not to mention heating, even for cooking, Russians shared a stove with several families in order to save the damn extravagant coal fee.

You know, this is only October. Who knows how many people will freeze to death in Russia when winter really comes in January and February?

Perhaps those who freeze to death in this winter are likely to be these Russian civilians with sad faces.

What's more terrible is that, in addition to coal, the prices of various daily necessities, industrial products, food, medical supplies, and even salt and condiments are all rising.

The price of food has more than tripled, and industrial products have increased fivefold. Even for daily necessities that are common in daily life, buying one will cost a Russian a month's salary.

There are many reasons for the current situation in Russia, including inflation, rebellions and strikes in various factories, huge consumption on the front line, and capitalists hoarding goods to make money from national disasters.

Any one of them will cause a headache for a country, but Russia has experienced all of them.

If it were in other European countries, the people's marches would make the government pay attention, the opposition would take the opportunity to attack the government, and the media would follow suit.

But in Russia under the dictatorship of the Tsar, no one would care about the lives of these civilians. There is no way, because Russia has a population of more than 100 million.

In other European countries, losing millions of people may be distressing. But in Russia, the loss of population does not exceed 10 million, and the Russian top leaders do not know what distress is.

But the current situation in Russia is not limited to this. The civilians in St. Petersburg are fine. After all, it is located in the capital of the empire, and the government will not make the situation in St. Petersburg too embarrassing.

But in remote villages and cities in Russia, the rise in materials is extremely exaggerated. There are even rumors that for every 10% increase in civilian wages, the price of food will double.

If a small number of Russians before the war had to starve, then only a small number of Russians now will not starve.

If you cover up the status of the Tsarist Russian Empire as a great power and just look at the remote villages and cities of Tsarist Russia from the perspective of an observer, you can be surprised to find that the current living environment in these areas is no different from the colonies of the great powers, and the government's exploitation of the people will even be more serious.

When a country cannot even guarantee the most basic living needs of the people, it is time for this country to be overthrown.

In the dark of seemingly calm Russia, a surging wave is being planned.

The first update of 3000 words, please vote for me and support me!