Chapter 480 Aircraft Carrier Completed

There were no activities on the National Day of the new year, and even the flag-raising activities, which were normal activities, were prohibited from being watched by anyone.

It’s not that there is any secret about the flag-raising activities, but now the flu is still risky. For the safety of the people, the fewer such public gatherings, the better.

With the arrival of the new year, there is a lot of good news for Australasia.

The first is the compensation from the defeated countries and the United States. Australasia can get about 120 million Australian dollars in compensation, which is more than half of the total fiscal revenue last year. It can be said to be rich.

You know, in 1918, the total fiscal revenue of Australasia was only 172.9 million Australian dollars, which was only 4% higher than the previous year, far less than the previous growth rate of 15% to 17%.

But there is no way around it. After all, the impact of influenza on countries around the world is very serious. Australasia can continue to maintain the growth of fiscal revenue, which is a blessing in disguise.

If we add the compensation of up to 120 million Australian dollars from the defeated countries and the United States, Australasia's total income last year was close to 300 million Australian dollars. The fiscal budget is quite rich, which is why Australasia is confident that it can develop the entire plain of the Murray River Basin.

Behind the increase in fiscal revenue, the total fiscal expenditure of the Australasia government last year was also frighteningly high.

Because of the free supply of materials and free treatment of influenza nationwide, Australasia's total fiscal expenditure last year increased sharply, and even almost exceeded the total fiscal revenue.

The total expenditure of 170.4 million Australian dollars is enough to prove the Australasia government's contribution to influenza. This expenditure figure has increased by nearly 25 million Australian dollars compared to last year, and it is all spent there.

It is foreseeable that this year's total fiscal expenditure will definitely not be low. After all, the construction of the new capital officially started this year, which is a major project with an investment of at least hundreds of millions of Australian dollars.

On January 17, 1919, Arthur, accompanied by many guards, quietly came to the Sydney Royal Dockyard to inspect the sea trial of the Colossus-class aircraft carrier, which had been under construction for two and a half years.

The construction time of the Colossus-class aircraft carrier was in the second half of 1916. The first batch of construction plans was divided into two ships, namely the Colossus and the Sky, and both were completed in mid-1918.

Now it is the most critical testing period for these two aircraft carriers. If they can successfully pass this period of sea navigation testing, it is expected that the two aircraft carriers can be put into use one after another in mid-to-late 1919.

This is great news for Australasia. The addition of the two aircraft carriers can greatly improve the combat effectiveness of the navy, making Australasia's naval scale and actual combat effectiveness squeeze into the top five in the world.

It is precisely because of the importance of these two aircraft carriers that he decided to personally inspect the sea trial of the aircraft carrier to see how the actual combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier independently researched by Australasia is.

As for the real aircraft carrier, the only one that has some research results is the cause and effect. But if all the battleships and battlecruisers that were temporarily modified during the war are counted, the aircraft carrier actually appeared several years ago.

The combat effectiveness between aircraft carriers is very different. After all, the fake aircraft carriers are only temporary substitutes during the war. The development of the navy still needs real aircraft carriers.

After the war, the connection between Britain and Australasia was still relatively close. Arthur also heard about the Hermes aircraft carrier studied by the British.

The Hermes aircraft carrier was proposed in 1916 and officially started in April 1917. The progress was not much worse than that of Australasia.

I have to admire the excellent talent of the British in shipbuilding. The Hermes aircraft carrier studied by the UK is actually not much different from the Colossus aircraft carrier in Australasia.

Of course, the real combat effectiveness and role of an aircraft carrier are still determined by the carrier-based aircraft carried by the aircraft carrier.

In order to cooperate with this advanced Giant aircraft carrier, Australasia equipped it with up to 24 fourth-generation military aircraft, maximizing the combat effectiveness of the Giant aircraft carrier.

Among them, there are 6 reconnaissance aircraft, 8 fighters and 10 bombers, which can fully guarantee the reconnaissance, air combat and bombing of the aircraft carrier.

It is no exaggeration to say that the combat capability and role of the Giant aircraft carrier, which is equipped with 24 of the most advanced military aircraft in the world, have far exceeded the most powerful super dreadnought.

If a super dreadnought and a Giant aircraft carrier are to fight one-on-one, the winner can only be the Giant aircraft carrier, and the Super Dreadnought has no chance of winning.

There is only one reason for this huge difference in the results, that is, the effective attack range of the Super Dreadnought is too far away from the effective attack range of the aircraft carrier.

Because of the aircraft, the Giant aircraft carrier can conduct reconnaissance, combat and even bombing missions hundreds of kilometers away.

But the maximum attack range of the Super Dreadnought is also the maximum attack range of the main gun. At present, the maximum range of ship-borne main guns is only tens of kilometers, and the hit rate of such large-caliber main guns cannot be guaranteed at all. The gap between the two sides in terms of range is already very different.

It can be said that aircraft carriers are the nemesis of giant battleships. When Australasia truly has aircraft carriers in the future, it will be able to make up for the gap with other countries that have large battleships, and even overtake them in the navy with aircraft carriers.

A little understanding of the fleet composition of later generations will make it clear that the most powerful fleet is naturally the aircraft carrier fleet.

It is generally composed of an aircraft carrier plus several destroyers and more small warships. The battleships that were so majestic in World War I and World War II have gradually lost their function with the birth of aircraft carriers.

After all, the cost of a super dreadnought is as high as about 2 million pounds, but the total cost of a giant aircraft carrier plus 24 aircraft is only about 1.5 million pounds.

An aircraft carrier built with 1.5 million pounds can suppress a super dreadnought built at a cost of more than 2 million pounds. This deal is a good deal no matter how you think about it.

Countries around the world spend a lot of money to build more super dreadnoughts. When they face the aircraft carriers built by Australasia and the United Kingdom, they know how to write the word "crying without tears".

There is no naval restriction treaty yet, so the victorious countries can naturally build warships as they want.

Take Britain as an example. In 1918, despite the impact of influenza, Britain still started building two aircraft carriers, two super dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers.

If the construction of these six main battleships had not continued until 1920, Arthur felt that the naval arms race would continue.

In order to keep Australasia's aircraft carriers as unknown as possible to the outside world, Arthur's whereabouts to the Sydney Royal Dockyard were very secretive and low-key, and there was no one to greet him at the Royal Dockyard.

The offshore waters where the test was conducted were also completely blocked. After all, Australia's oceans are fully controlled by Australasia, and it only takes a word to block it.

No country would be stupid enough to challenge Australasia's position in this region of Oceania. Even Britain and France may not be able to shake Australasia's dominance in Oceania.

On the super battleship Hope, Arthur was holding a telescope and patiently watching the performance of the two aircraft carriers.

Because the stability of the two aircraft carriers being tested could not be fully guaranteed, Arthur was very sensible and chose to watch the performance of the two aircraft carriers on the Hope super dreadnought.

The two aircraft carriers mainly tested the rapid takeoff and landing of three different types of aircraft, the precise detection and attack of the farthest distance targets, and the rapid U-turn in a short time.

As a large warship with a full load displacement of more than 13,000 tons, the size of the Giant-class aircraft carrier is relatively small compared to the super dreadnought.

Because it is equipped with almost the same power, the maximum speed of the Giant-class aircraft carrier can reach 25.5 knots, which has exceeded some battlecruisers famous for their speed, which is enough to show how fast the aircraft carrier is.

Of course, the important reason why the Giant-class aircraft carrier runs so fast is that the Soldier-class aircraft carrier has almost given up all the firepower.

In addition to some rapid-fire guns and machine guns used for air defense, there are several torpedo tubes hidden underwater, which together constitute all the firepower sources of the Giant-class aircraft carrier.

As for the large artillery that conventional warships have, it is impossible to see it on the giant-class aircraft carrier.

However, this is also easy to understand. After all, the reconnaissance and firepower of aircraft carriers basically rely on aircraft. Aircraft carriers rarely engage in close combat with enemy warships, and basically do not have that ability.

The most difficult point to overcome in building an aircraft carrier is the long take-off distance required by the current backward aircraft.

Because of insufficient power, British and French-made aircraft generally require a take-off distance of more than one kilometer.

Aircraft often need to glide for a long time before they have enough power to fly. But aircraft carriers cannot be designed too long because of their design and purpose.

Take the Giant-class aircraft carrier in Australasia as an example. Its length and width are only 180 meters and 21.5 meters respectively, which is obviously far from the glide distance required by the aircraft.

In order for the aircraft to take off in such a short distance, some technology to help the aircraft fly must be used.

Needless to say, the full-through deck allows the aircraft to have a longer glide distance and landing distance, which improves the stability of the aircraft during takeoff and landing.

You know, in the entire flight of the aircraft, apart from human influence, the most dangerous stage is takeoff and landing.

Especially landing, the entire aircraft carrier is only so far away. If there is a slight mistake in landing, it is possible that the aircraft will crash directly into the sea or even crash directly on the deck.

The Giant-class aircraft carrier is specially designed with an arresting device to help intercept aircraft that are too fast during landing and prevent the aircraft from sliding directly into the sea.

After all, the cost of a state-of-the-art military aircraft is as high as tens of thousands of Australian dollars. If one is lost for nothing, it is really distressing.

In addition to the device to assist takeoff and landing, the Giant-class aircraft carrier also deliberately covers the aircraft parking area and the aircraft carrier's command tower with thicker armor to ensure the protection performance of the aircraft carrier.

After all, the aircraft carrier's own firepower is not strong. If there is no reliable protection capability, it is easy to be attacked by submarines lurking underwater.

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