Seven Seas Beacon Fire

Therefore, the remaining options are basically triple-turreted designs. Some options place all the turrets at the stern because the stern of a warship is actually the best firing platform. Because of the obstruction of the hull in front, even a ship with a deck as low as the freeboard of the Hood's stern, which is low enough to wash one's feet, will not affect the firing of the main guns. Therefore, the guns placed here can often be placed even lower by placing them on a lower deck.

This way, the entire area from the three rear turrets forward to the bow can be used to house the hangar and flight deck.

Almost all of the rear-mounted main gun designs are considered to have achieved a "perfect balance" between artillery and aviation facilities, and the freed-up front two-thirds of the hull gave designers a lot of room to develop new ideas.

For example, one design features two flight decks, with the upper deck being shorter than the lower one. The idea is that fighter jets would take off from the shorter upper flight deck, while larger and heavier bombers would take off from the lower flight deck.

However, when the forward and all-forward configurations, which were slightly superior in terms of data evaluation, were submitted together, the naval leadership quickly rejected all the all-rear configurations. The reason given was that it would be difficult for the guns in the all-rear configurations to exert their firepower forward, and the most important mission of the aircraft carrier in the Colombian Navy's future operational concept was to intercept and destroy enemy cruisers.

The Navy stated that the Lexington-class battlecruisers were large enough, and their all-forward-mounted aviation facilities were also quite comprehensive, achieving a "comprehensive balance" between aviation and gunnery. After all, the flight deck in the all-forward-mounted configuration could also extend to the stern. Apart from the fact that the forward-mounted guns were more valuable and had a slightly higher weight, there was really no significant difference between the two.

However, before the Constellation-class aircraft carrier design entered the final selection, sources indicated that the rejection of the all-rear-mounted design was not due to performance issues, as placing the main guns at the rear would not affect firing while pursuing enemy cruisers.

After all, anyone who has played Volvo knows that as long as the main gun layout is reasonable, the turrets behind it can still have a considerable forward firing range to the left and right. In the process of chasing enemy cruisers, in most cases, they will not fire at the enemy directly in front of them.

Not to mention that even if the turret is placed in front, the No. 2 turret in the superimposed turret layout cannot fire in a certain range directly in front, because the muzzle blast may damage the equipment of the No. 1 turret.

In reality, there was only one reason why these all-rear-positioned plans were rejected: the Navy believed that such a plan, which resembled an escape, was too demoralizing and looked too ugly!

The Colombian Navy needs not only strength, but also good looks!!

Chapter 313 HM-01 (1)

The Crown Prince is ill, and this time the illness came on suddenly and is quite serious. Li Zongdi, who has not seriously dealt with trivial political affairs since ascending the throne, has no choice but to personally begin to review those memorials.

Although many people compare the old man to Cao Cao and Emperor Yongle, there is still a fundamental difference between him and these people.

That is, the old man is not a very authoritarian person at heart. He led troops all his life. When he was young, he clashed with the Cossack cavalry in the Northwest. In this world war, the old man fought the whole battle. Even now, the place where the old man lives is still furnished with a cot.

While the old man didn't like extravagance in his daily life, he wouldn't have gone to such extremes. Now, he's simply emulating the story of Goujian, using the hard cot to constantly remind himself not to indulge in the comforts of supreme power.

However, it is clear that the old man really doesn't like doing these things. In a way, it's like a high school senior preparing for exams. High school seniors are not unaware of the importance of exam preparation, but the process is truly painful. This kind of tedium and boredom requires one's own willpower to overcome and resist.

Some test-taking addicts derive pleasure from the process. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was clearly one such addict. Li Zongdi, on the other hand… Li Che viewed his grandfather as a physical education student. You could ask him to run 20 sets of 800 meters a day on the track, followed by hundreds of push-ups, and he'd have no problem. But asking him to calmly do test papers…

The old man didn't say he couldn't do it, but he really didn't like doing it.

In this regard, although in theory the prime minister could share a lot of the work, the relationship between the Prince of Jin's mansion and the Datong faction represented by the prime minister was actually maintained more by the crown prince. Li Zongdi was not very interested in the theories of the new school of thought; in fact, he had little interest in any political theory.

The Prince of Jin's mansion has come together with the New School for only one reason over the years: the New School's proponents are the most efficient, the most organized, and the most disciplined.

Especially in the western and northern regions beyond the Great Wall of the empire, only these new schools of thought could effectively support his army in combat and efficiently procure and supply materials for the troops under his command.

So even though he and the current Prime Minister, the Fifth Prince, still get along well, it doesn't mean that the old man has complete and unreserved trust in the Fifth Prince.

After all, when he was still a prince, the relationship between him and the new school of thought represented by Mr. Fifth was relatively simple. Now that he has become the emperor and Mr. Fifth is the head of all officials, the relationship between the two can never go back to what it was before.

Therefore, no matter how much Li Zongdi dislikes handling government affairs, he has to grit his teeth and spend a lot of energy dealing with state affairs every day.

Originally, the old man had devoted his main energy to the reform of the domestic army. Now that the war was over, it was the right time to reduce the number of troops, and it was also a very appropriate opportunity to reorganize and train the army and improve its overall combat effectiveness.

After all, the gap in combat quality between the Ming Empire's troops during the last world war was unprecedented. The quality of the participating troops was uneven, and a few elite troops were comparable to the most elite combat troops of the Leitanian Empire in terms of weaponry, fighting spirit, and combat quality. These troops were later jokingly referred to by military enthusiasts as "Leitanian Supermen".

It can be said that if all the Ming Dynasty's combat troops had half the average quality of the "garrison troops," even if the Battle of the Java Sea had ended in a disastrous defeat, the Ming troops stationed in Yingzhou would have been able to drive the Colombian landing forces back into the sea and simultaneously wipe out the rebellious local forces in Yingzhou.

Under normal circumstances, changing the quality of the troops left by the Ming Dynasty in a short period of time, completing a military reform involving millions of troops, and shaping a completely new consciousness for the troops of the new Tang Empire is an extremely difficult task, and it is by no means something that ordinary people have the ability and determination to carry out.

Now, with the massive troop reduction following the war, Li Zongdi is arguably the most suitable person in the country to take charge of this matter. He has both the skills and the prestige, and the opportunity to use the troop reduction to carry out military reforms is a rare one.

After all, who knows when the next world war, which will mobilize millions of troops, will break out?

However, at this critical juncture, Li Renzhi fell ill and was bedridden. Just as Li Zongdi was preparing to promote the reform and reorganization of the entire army, he had to be tied up with political affairs. After half a month, seeing that the Crown Prince's health could not be restored in a short time, the old man summoned Prince Zhao back.

When Li Renxu learned that he was to be appointed regent, he looked at his serious-looking father and said, "Father, what are you thinking? You want me to be regent? My elder brother is sick, not dead. After the prime minister makes his decision, it can be sent to my elder brother for approval, right? Why are you making me do it...?"

"Second son, you and your eldest brother are both like your mother. Although you've been leading troops alongside your father all these years, I know that deep down you are just like your eldest brother—capable. Your eldest brother is seriously ill and in poor health..."

"My elder brother is seriously ill and in poor health, I don't want to force myself!" Li Renxu waved his hands repeatedly. "Besides, Dad, I already have a daughter. Are you still trying to fool me like that young boy I used to be? Don't I know what I look like? You saying I look like you is fine, but looking like my mother? You're really flattering me. When I was thinner, you always said I had a pointy mouth and monkey cheeks..."

"So you mean I also have a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks?" The old man's eyes were soft, and persuasion through emotion didn't work, so he rolled up his sleeves, ready to use force.

"No, no, no." Li Renxu couldn't help but take two steps back: "Dad, when you named us brothers, you probably just picked names randomly from a book. But to be honest, the names of the three of us brothers together are not very auspicious. My eldest nephew is quite capable. I don't want to be turned into a roast duck by my eldest nephew in the future."

"What the hell are you spouting?"

“You can take this as me talking nonsense. Back when our family was still a royal family, we could do whatever we wanted. But now you are the emperor, and my eldest brother is the crown prince. My third brother and I have to be more responsible.” Li Renxu said seriously, “My third brother is a bit slow-witted, so I have to see things more clearly. What is the purpose of you becoming a sage, Father? I have no interest in your position right now, but I am very interested in being recorded in history.”

Li Zongdi was speechless after being rebuffed by his second son. He had originally intended to bring this bastard over as a slave, but it turned out the slave was smarter than he had thought...

“Father, you have things to do right now and can’t get away, and I also have a lot of things to prepare in Silla. You’ve sent me to Silla as governor, so I have to see this through to the end, right? You know how badly we fought Colombia on the Silla Peninsula back then… After the war, we all need to rebuild, don’t we? Besides, Silla’s troops need more training. If the troops from the former Ming Dynasty’s interior are not up to the task, then Silla’s troops are simply a rabble.”

Seeing that his father remained silent, Li Renxu tried to appeal to his emotions: "Father, look, you're busy training the troops across the country, and I haven't been idle in Silla either. Why don't you call my nephew back? After seeing his father's condition stabilize, this kid went to the naval shipyard. You know, we have a naval traitor in our family... what do you say to that..."

"Shut your mouth! How dare you say that? How old is your nephew? You want him to oversee the country?"

"I just thought he was idle... Besides, my nephew is so smart, what's wrong with him overseeing the country?" Li Renxu muttered to himself, "I inquired before I came. My nephew has been spending all his time on a ship that doesn't even have cannons. After all, he's the Crown Prince, and he'll be taking over your throne eventually. It's not bad for him to get some experience now, is it?"

"That kid's been circling around a tunnel that doesn't even have a cannon?"

“Absolutely true.” Li Renxu raised one hand to swear: “I heard there were cannons originally, but he insisted on dismantling them. Cannons are the gods of war, of all things, why would you dismantle cannons? Isn’t that just ridiculous?”

-------------------------------------

"As I emphasized before, the focus of an aircraft carrier is on operating the aircraft on it. An aircraft carrier is a platform, and all its capabilities revolve around carrier-based aircraft. In order to operate carrier-based aircraft, in addition to considering rapid launch, we also need to consider how to properly recover them. Therefore, all double-deck and triple-deck designs have been eliminated!"

At the aircraft carrier design seminar organized by the Jiangnan Design Bureau, Li Che was brimming with unprecedented confidence. In the past, when it came to naval-related professional issues, he mostly maintained a roundabout approach. After all, whether it was a battleship, cruiser, or destroyer, the technical threshold for the various subsystems was actually very high, and even if he had "studied" on the internet in another world and was considered a naval enthusiast, he still couldn't possibly explain it clearly.

However, when it comes to issues related to aircraft carriers, things are completely different.

What is before you is a perfect pig!

In today's world, Li Che truly has enough confidence to pat his chest and declare that he is the most professional aircraft carrier expert in the world. No one knows more about aircraft carriers than him, no one!

At first, his attitude actually displeased many experts in the design bureau. In their eyes, this was just the Crown Prince taking advantage of his status to come and spout nonsense for fun.

How could the Crown Prince possibly be involved in such a specialized matter as warship design...?

What the fuck?

Your Highness, you really know how to do that?

The few words Li Che casually uttered were already lessons learned in another world, lessons that navies of various countries had learned through countless amounts of money, time, and even lives.

For example, the multi-deck design he just mentioned seems incredibly appealing. However, the indicators that determine an aircraft carrier's operational capability are not solely its aircraft launch capability. Unless the aircraft launched from your carrier are like kamikazes, heading straight for the enemy, you always need to consider how the aircraft return and how they land on the carrier after returning.

Landing an aircraft on a warship has always been a more difficult problem than taking it off.

The multi-deck design seems appealing, with fighter jets taking off from the upper deck and heavy-load attack aircraft requiring more runways taking off from the lower deck. However, all of these aircraft would land on the top flight deck.

Anyone who has seen pictures or videos of aircraft carriers recovering carrier-based aircraft during World War II knows that in the era of full-length flight deck aircraft carriers before the advent of angled flight decks, after recovering carrier-based aircraft, all the recovered aircraft would be piled on the bow deck. At this time, the length and area of ​​the deck were crucial, because the longer the deck and the larger the area, the more aircraft you could accommodate in front.

Among the multiple flight decks, the uppermost flight deck is definitely the shortest. All aircraft must use the uppermost flight deck to land, and this small flight deck will naturally affect the entire ship's aviation operation capabilities in the future.

After rejecting a few more solutions whose problems were obvious at a glance, Li Che turned his attention back to the dozens of different design drafts in front of him. Each of these dozens of different solutions had different numbers and letters following their names, but they all had two common letters at the beginning.

HM

As expected, the aircraft carriers of the Tang Dynasty would definitely not be referred to as CVs.

Perhaps because he had spent quite a long time in that other world, Li Che found himself facing the nation's first real fleet aircraft carrier, and discovered that his heart was not as calm as he had imagined. His somewhat flamboyant style now is probably related to this.

Chapter 314 HM-01 (2)

When the "Dragon" class was still a battlecruiser, although its main guns were larger in caliber than those of the Lexington class, it was actually shorter in length, with a waterline length of 260 meters and a beam of 32 meters. All 16 boilers produced 141,000 horsepower, which could propel the ship to a speed of 30.5 knots.

As a gunboat, the protection specifications of the Ryuho-class were changed several times. Initially, the side armor was planned to be arranged at a 260mm angle of 15.5°. The value of this main armor belt seemed to be nothing special. Moreover, since the longitudinal and vertical space of the engine room was larger, the rear of the main armor belt of the engine room section did not have the large-angle sturdy dome armor with a thickness of 110mm (the first two ships) / 130mm (later batches) like the Ryuho. Instead, there was only a layer of 55mm thick fragmentation armor.

While this level of protection is certainly much better than the seven-inch sloped armor of the Lexington, it is still slightly weaker than the 12-inch sloped armor of the Admiral-class battlecruisers, even with the 55mm armor layer at the rear. In terms of the engine compartment, it is comparable to the Admiral-class.

Of course, the ammunition depot section's protection is basically on par with the Longyuan, and in this respect, it's much better than the Admiral's. As for the Lexington? It's good-looking enough. It's impolite to mention armor. Isn't it dressed a little revealing so you can see it? (Knocked out by Lexington)

However, unlike the less-than-ideal height of the main armor belt on the Admiral-class battlecruisers, the Ryuho's 260mm main armor belt covered a height of 6.8 meters. Moreover, compared to the Ryuen-class battleships' armor layout, which was somewhat similar to a hybrid of the BSM and Nagato armor styles, the Ryuho, as the first to adopt an armor box layout, lowered the main armor deck by one deck height in the final design, reducing the coverage height of the main armor belt to 4.7 meters. However, the thickness of the main armor belt benefited from this, increasing to 305mm, comparable to the Ryuen.

Although the actual protection is still significantly inferior to that of the Longyuan due to the lack of a thick dome armor at the rear, the 4.7-meter-high 305mm sloped armor at a 15-degree angle is larger in terms of both the strength of protection and the coverage area than the 12-foot-high 305mm sloped armor on the Admiral-class battlecruiser.

Unfortunately, such a well-designed armor layout, which made it "the best-protected battlecruiser in the world" when it was a battlecruiser, became an absolute burden when it came to an aircraft carrier.

Li Che originally hoped to remove the main armor already installed on the two "Dragon Phoenix" hulls and then attach 150 mm armor to the sides of the aircraft carrier.

Armor steel is very expensive these days, and the high-quality armor steel salvaged from these ships can be saved for the future. It can be used in the construction of new warships or, within the limits of treaty regulations, in the upgrading and modernization of older battleships.

Removing these heavy armor plates can effectively reduce the weight of the "Ryuho". After all, although the treaty gave each of the three superpowers a quota of two converted aircraft carriers with a displacement of more than 27,000 tons, according to the current terms, the maximum standard displacement cannot exceed 36,000 tons.

During the treaty era, tonnage was a very valuable asset. The tonnage saved now can be used to build new aircraft carriers in the future.

However, some people in the navy were quite dissatisfied with Li Che's decision to remove the 280mm naval gun from the "Dragon Phoenix" class from the very beginning. After all, this was a "privilege" that was hard-won in the negotiations of the naval treaty. Moreover, it was the Crown Prince himself who negotiated it. He went through so much trouble, only to be told that he was not allowed to put heavy guns on his own aircraft carrier. What was the point of negotiating this in the first place?

Of course, this group's voice wasn't very loud. After all, the Tang Dynasty didn't lack high-speed ships like Columbia did. Some officers and high-ranking naval officers in the front-line fleet knew the true speed of several Longyuan-class battleships. Although the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy couldn't produce six battlecruisers with speeds exceeding 29 knots like the Royal Navy of Victoria, nor did it have the two Lexingtons that could reach 33 knots like the Navy of Columbia, the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy actually had a full eight high-speed ships capable of reaching 27.5 knots.

Because they possessed what was arguably the world's largest high-speed fleet, the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy wasn't particularly concerned about the few 280mm guns mounted on their aircraft carriers.

The ideal situation for the vanguard fleet is to be able to outrun the opponent and also win the battle. If it is not possible to do both, then try to win the battle or outrun the opponent.

If you can win the battle, you can slash across like a blunt, heavy sword. If you can't win the battle but can escape, you can make moves on the course planning and fleet deployment, like a light sword, avoiding the enemy's sharpest points and conducting reconnaissance.

Among the world's top three navies, the Colombian Navy possesses the fastest light ships. They believe they can outrun all their opponents, and in fact, they can outrun all surface gunboats.

The Royal Navy of Victoria believed it could defeat the Colombian Navy, and even more so the Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty, having won twice already.

Needless to say, the Tang Dynasty side was really having a blast pretending to be weak while actually being strong.

The problem is that, although the Navy does not have an urgent need to equip these aircraft carriers with 280mm heavy guns, and it is understandable that you would not build heavy guns and instead focus entirely on aviation facilities, the Navy believes that it is still necessary to have firepower and armor capable of dealing with heavy cruisers.

Therefore, the navy wanted to equip the two aircraft carriers with 200 mm armor belts and four twin-mounted 210 mm/50 caliber main guns.

Looking at this indicator, Li Che felt that there were still some people in the navy plotting to restore the "Dragon Phoenix's" gun warfare capabilities. Putting aside the eight 210mm naval guns, this requirement was not exaggerated for an early aircraft carrier. After all, he remembered that in a series of fleet exercises in another world, his sister-in-law's naval guns had actually achieved results in the exercises.

Although the destroyer in the battle was obtained by disguising himself as his sister and ambushing her, he actually won against the cruiser that came to "take revenge" later with his own eight-inch guns.

Considering that even in the classic Battle of the Coral Sea, the world's first carrier battle, the two carrier groups searched for each other until they were only 90 kilometers apart without finding each other, it can be said that if they had been a little more off-target, the world's first gun battle between carriers might have taken place. The immaturity of early carriers and carrier-based aircraft did indeed pose a risk of encountering enemy cruisers.

However, your armor is really too much. The main armor belt of the "Dragon Phoenix" has a 15.5-degree slope. 200 mm at a 15.5-degree slope... Are you trying to withstand the enemy's 10-inch cannon?

is this necessary?

"150mm of sloped armor is enough to deal with eight-inch-class naval gun attacks. The possibility of a gun battle between aircraft carriers is very low. Our aircraft carrier does not need to pay the extra weight cost for such a low probability. Moreover, I think that if we are only fighting against cruisers, it is enough to be equipped with four twin 150mm naval guns. 150mm naval guns plus 150mm armor can definitely defeat any heavy cruiser."

Li Che's words were not just empty talk. First of all, he was very clear about the armor protection of early heavy cruisers in various countries. In another world, the first generation of CA of the Middle East had almost no armor. In terms of design style, it can be said that "no protection is the best protection".

The armor protection of RN's CA before the armor was reinforced was also quite comical, and even after the reinforcement, the armor protection area was still quite comical. As for Columbia... how did it get the nickname "Crispy"? Even though Japan put a lot of effort into the design of cruisers, the early CAs were only able to barely withstand six-inch level conventional shells.

Even when facing the so-called treaty heavy cruisers like the Zara and Kaohsiung, the Tang Dynasty cruiser, armed with 150mm guns, could definitely win artillery battles. After all, with a tonnage of over 30,000 to nearly 40,000 tons, its 150mm sloped armor was more than enough to withstand 8-inch shells at normal range. It could win any battle.

However, it was clear that the Navy did not think so. The Navy still hoped that the aircraft carrier, as the most important secondary capital ship besides the battleship, could maintain its advantage over heavy cruisers. Faced with the Navy's insistence, Li Che did not insist too much after discussing with several designers and several high-ranking Navy officials.

There's a joke that goes something like this?

The gunman who originally planned to shoot Trump said that even after he died, he had something to say: "I missed, but that's to let you understand why I wanted to kill this guy!"

Once the two Tang Dynasty ships are built, the navy will be truly formidable. After using them for a few years, they will understand what the most important indicator of an aircraft carrier is. The eight-inch guns are not difficult to dismantle, and during future upgrades, they can be easily replaced with new medium-caliber anti-aircraft guns, just like the sister-in-law. As for adding the 210mm guns, let's just say it's fine. However, both sides compromised, and the 200mm armor was also reduced to 150mm as desired.

After finalizing the most contentious issues, many of the other technical details of this first aircraft carrier of the Tang Dynasty were designed under the direct guidance of the Crown Prince. For example, it adopted a fully enclosed bow and enclosed hangar, and a huge smokestack where the massive engine room exhaust of the battlecruiser converged... I don't know if it's someone's quirky sense of humor, but the final result looks too much like the Tai Tai.

The first aircraft carrier someone acquired in the first ship girl game they played in another world was Lexington, and their deep-seated obsession with Lexington gave rise to the "Dragon Phoenix" of the Tang Dynasty.

As for the advantages and disadvantages of closed hangars versus open hangars... and the advantages and disadvantages of closed bows versus open bows... these are all difficult to clearly distinguish as to which one is better.

It can only be said that different usage needs and different sea areas will result in different situations. The Tang Dynasty Navy's operational range covers cold, temperate and tropical sea areas. Both aircraft carriers with closed hangars and those with open hangars will definitely be built. As for which path the navy will choose to continue developing in the future, that can only be decided after actual use.

Looking at the finalized design, Li Che sighed inwardly – ​​this is the “pioneer of aviation tactics” for our Great Tang Royal Navy.

The development of a military branch must be based on a realistic material foundation. The reason why the USN and IJN were able to become the two navies with the fastest development momentum in the field of naval aviation and the largest voice of the aviation faction within the navy (relatively speaking) is that these two navies possessed the world's four largest aircraft carriers during the treaty period.

With a realistic material foundation, the aviation faction can begin to develop in a down-to-earth manner, rather than being an appendage of the fleet faction. Only then can they continuously learn from their mistakes in exercises and constantly enrich their strategic and tactical theories.

Even the most beautiful flowers must eventually take root in the soil, and these two large fleet carriers, each weighing 33,000 tons (claimed tonnage), will undoubtedly become the fertile ground for the development and growth of the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy's air force.

The aviators taking off from the 255-meter flight decks of the two aircraft carriers of the Great Tang Dynasty can certainly compare. Those aviators taking off from flight decks a little over 100 meters but less than 200 meters can fly faster, higher, and farther!

As for these two aircraft carriers on which high hopes were placed, according to the latest ship naming rules of the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy, the names of battleships and battlecruisers were designated by the royal family or cabinet, while the naming rules for aircraft carriers were to be based on the dynasty's naming level and to name the ships after people.

Originally, these two aircraft carriers converted from the "Dragon Phoenix" class battlecruisers should have been named "Qin" class aircraft carriers, and specifically, these two sisters should have been named after famous civil and military officials of the Qin Dynasty.

However, Li Che suggested that the two aircraft carriers should retain the original names of the battlecruisers, which could be seen as inheriting some of the sentiments associated with the development of naval strategic cruiser technology.

Ultimately, the aircraft carriers HM-01 "Longhuang" and HM-02 "Longxiang" became the only two aircraft carriers in the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy named after the character "dragon".

Asking for a day off using beautiful constellation pictures.

I had some drinking and socializing today, and I'm feeling a bit dizzy. I'm taking a day off to rest. First, I'll let everyone see the Constellation-class aircraft carriers of the Colombian Navy featured in this book.

It is 270 meters long and 32 meters wide, with a standard displacement of 36,000 tons. It is equipped with three triple 10-inch/L52 main guns and ten single 5-inch/38-caliber anti-aircraft guns. It is rated to carry 58 aircraft. However, due to the length limitation of the flight deck, most of the aircraft it carries are fighter/reconnaissance aircraft.