Rise of Australia

Chapter 440 Passenger Aircraft and Aircraft Carriers

Arthur adhered to the principle that the European War was the best time for Australasia to develop. When Europe started the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme successively, there was no delay in the development of Australasia.

First of all, the third phase of the construction of the Leonora Industrial Base has been fully completed and put into production, which is great news for Australasia.

The total construction area of ​​the third phase of the entire Leonora industrial base is as high as tens of thousands of acres, which can accommodate more than 500 super-large factories, nearly 2000 small and medium-sized factories and hundreds of large storage areas.

This industrial base alone will create at least 55 jobs for the country and improve the development of Australasia's industry, mining, economy, and people's livelihood.

With the support of the Australasian government, the factories in the Leonora industrial base are basically full, and nearly 3000 large and small factories have already moved in.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Leonora industrial base is the Ruhr area of ​​Australasia, and it is the center and heart of Australasia's current industry.

According to the estimates of the Australasian government, the total production capacity of the Leonora industrial base will account for more than one-third of the Australasian industry throughout 1916, which is more than the combined industrial output value of all non-Australian regions many.

It is also thanks to the completion of the third phase of the Leonora Industrial Base that Australasia's current total steel production has reached nearly 700 million tons, and it has grown very rapidly in the past two years.

In addition to the growth in industry, the total arable land area of ​​Australasia has reached 3445 million acres, and the per capita arable land area has reached 2.09 acres, and has always remained above two acres.

Of the 3445 million acres of total arable land, Australasia (Australia plus New Zealand) has a total of 3113 million acres, and colonies and territories have 332 million acres.

The annual grain output of Australasia has reached more than 1600 million tons, and the annual grain export has reached a terrifying 1000 million tons.

This is not a small number.With the deepening of the war, the food distribution per capita in European countries has been greatly reduced.

If 1000 million tons of grain is saved, it will be enough to feed 5000 million people for a year.Even in the previous peacetime, it was enough to feed at least 4000 million people for a year.

Australasia's grain was exported to Western and Eastern Europe. It was an important food supply area for Britain, France and Russia, as well as a supply area for meat, cattle and sheep.

From the start of the war to the present, Australasia can export more than 200 million cattle and sheep to Europe every year, plus canned meat made of wild rabbit meat, camel meat, kangaroo meat, etc., Australasia exports to Europe every year The total amount of meat products has reached a terrifying million tons.

It is no exaggeration to say that Australasia is an important supplier of food and meat to Europe, providing important supplies for millions of troops.

The growth of Australasian agriculture was to Arthur's satisfaction.If the newly acquired colonies were further developed, the annual production of Australasia would increase even more.

Not to mention the current population of more than 1600 million, even if the population doubles again, it is fully capable of supporting it.

Apart from the development of industry and agriculture, what Arthur is most satisfied with should be the transportation construction in Australasia.

Following industry, railways and the Northern Railway, the construction of the Eastern Railway has also been mostly completed.

Western Australia's Western Railway, and Eastern Australia, connecting Queensland, New South Wales, the Capital Territory and Victoria have all been built.

The only remaining railway line in South Australia from Darwin to Port Augusta is expected to take construction until the end of 1917 to complete.

For Australasia, the most important railways in the western industrial area and the railways in the eastern developed area have been completed, and the total mileage of Australasian railways has exceeded [-] kilometers.

In addition to the completion of the Central Railway, there is one more important thing for Australasia, and that is the increase in train speed.

Under the hard research of engine expert Diesel, the locomotive newly adopted by the Australasian transportation department uses the dual power mode of steam and internal combustion engine, which can stabilize the speed of the vehicle at more than 62 miles (100 kilometers), and can break through 70 during the downhill period. miles (115 km).

After many tests, it has been determined that the locomotive with this power mode has strong stability, and was purchased in large quantities by the transportation department and used in railway transportation.

The breakthrough in train speed is a very important achievement for Australasia.Australasia is a country with a very large land area, and the most important native Australian region is also very large.

The Australian region has a distance of thousands of kilometers whether it is vertical from north to south or horizontal from east to west.

This leads to the fact that if you start from the westernmost to the easternmost, it will take at least a week or more to arrive at the previous train speed.

But after adopting the new locomotive, under theoretical circumstances, it only takes two days to reach the most western part of the Australian region to the easternmost part.

This can greatly facilitate exchanges between states and regions in Australia, as well as facilitate the transportation of government materials between regions in Australia.

After Australasia's total railway mileage ranks among the top six in the world, Australasia's transportation capacity is already world-class, and it can properly deal with any accidents that break out in any region.

In the next step of the construction plan of the transportation department, in addition to thoroughly improving the construction of the central railway, a large number of railways will be built in the newly occupied areas, including New Guinea, Sulawesi and the coastal areas of the Persian Gulf. regional dominance.

At the same time, Australasia, the areas along the Murray River, and New Zealand will also further build railways to ensure that the army can quickly reach every inch of the country.

Of course, the major military factories in Australasia are not idle.The independent Royal Aircraft Works was able to manufacture more than 500 aircraft per year, and the Agricultural Machinery Factory had built more than 500 T-14 tanks.

Whether it is the fourth-generation military aircraft or the T-14 tank, it is the last card that Australasia hides in the dark.

It also represents the top technology of Australasia's military technology and is an important guarantee for Australasia to safeguard its national interests.

The T-14 tank Arthur does not plan to make it public for the time being. After all, this tank technology is at least ten years ahead of the British tank.

At most, when the third-generation tank is about to be born, the technology of the first-generation tank will be disclosed to the public in exchange for sufficient funds.

Such means are being used by many countries both now and in the future.In theory, no country will expose its latest technology unless it comes to the most critical moment.

As the saying goes, the hole cards you think are just my conventional weapons, and my conventional weapons are your hole cards.

In any case, it is necessary to ensure that military technology is sufficient to lead most or even all countries, so that they can realize their plans unscrupulously.

There is also good news for Arthur, that is, in addition to military aircraft, the research on civilian aircraft, that is, passenger aircraft, has also made considerable progress.

Six years have passed since the successful development of the previous generation passenger aircraft SF-1, also known as the Big Belly One by researchers.

Through the joint efforts of the engine research room, the original aviation laboratory and other factories, Dadu No. 2, the passenger aircraft officially code-named SF-[-], has been successfully developed and has passed preliminary tests.

When Arthur received the news, he immediately rushed to the current Royal Aircraft Manufacturing Factory to check.

Compared with less stable airships, airplanes are undoubtedly a better choice for travel.Not only can it save more time than airships, but it is also safer than airships.

The maximum carrying weight of the SF-2 passenger aircraft is 3.7 tons. In addition to being able to carry 12 passengers including the driver, it can also transport more than 500 kilograms of luggage.

After the engine is upgraded, the average flight speed of SF-2 can reach 190 kilometers per hour, and the maximum flight speed can exceed 215 kilometers.

This speed is almost twice the speed of the improved train and more than three times the speed of the original train.

Coupled with the upgrade of the fuel tank, the maximum range of the SF-2 equipped with a larger fuel tank has exceeded 1700 kilometers, which can greatly facilitate people's daily travel.

If you take the train, it will take at least 2 to 3 days from the westernmost to the easternmost part of Australia.

But if you take a plane instead, you can get there in a little over a day at the fastest.

If more auxiliary fuel tanks are equipped, the maximum voyage distance can be extended to more than 2000 kilometers, saving refueling time on the road.

Of course, the current airplane, like the airship, is just a way for the rich to travel.

Because each plane has only 12 seats, after excluding a pilot, the maximum number of passengers that can be carried is only 11 people.

This has led to the fact that the current passenger aircraft serve more governments and high-level people, and it is basically impossible to popularize it to middle- and low-level people in a short period of time.

Even in later generations, there are still a large number of people who cannot afford to fly, let alone more than 100 years ago.

According to the estimates of the aircraft manufacturer, such an SF-2 passenger aircraft will cost at least [-] pounds for one trip.

This also means that, even if it is just to share the cost, each of the 11 passengers will have to share nearly 200 pounds, 400 Australian dollars.

This is 7 to 8 times the per capita annual income of Australasia. It is impossible for people with low and middle incomes to spend nearly ten years of salary to experience a flight.

While it might seem like an airplane costs less than an airship, it's actually quite the opposite.

At present, the fare for traveling around the world by airship has been reduced to about 600 pounds, but if you use a plane to travel around the world, it will cost at least 4700 pounds, and it will cost as much as [-] pounds per seat.

Looking at the whole world, those who can spend nearly 5000 pounds to travel around the world are definitely at the top of their country.

If the aircraft wants to achieve true civilianization, it may have to wait until the end of World War II to have hope.

This does not prevent Arthur from planning to build airports in various places in Australasia. Firstly, it will be convenient for him to go to various places in Australasia for inspections, and secondly, it will be convenient for domestic and foreign exchanges.

For Arthur, the royal family's special plane and his own special plane are indispensable. Arthur even has a plan to build an exclusive royal private airport near Sydney Palace to facilitate the daily travel of the royal family.

The most obvious point is that the line distance between Sydney and Killington is only more than 2200 kilometers. On the premise of being equipped with two auxiliary fuel tanks, the SF-2 passenger plane can already arrive in one trip, realizing the [-]-hour mutual arrival between Australia and New Zealand. .

As the two most important and core regions in Australasia, the distance of more than 2000 kilometers makes the communication between the two regions slow.

With the second-generation passenger aircraft technology, it will be helpful for high-level exchanges between the two regions, and it will make the connection between Australia and New Zealand closer.

If we can wait for the faster and more convenient third-generation passenger plane in the future, I am afraid that it will no longer be a dream for New Zealanders to travel to Australia within ten hours.

Before that, because of the reason of crossing the ocean, the communication between the two regions could only choose ships or airships.

However, there are not many stops in New Zealand for international circumnavigation, resulting in most of the routes from Sydney to Wellington being Australasia's own route.

First, there are fewer flights by airship, and second, the price will be more expensive than sailing around the world.

It takes at least two days or even three to four days for a single trip by ship between the two places.

It also makes the previous Australia and New Zealand regions always have a sense of estrangement, and there is also a big gap in the development of the two regions.

Of course, Arthur would never fly until the second-generation passenger plane had passed effective tests.

This period will last at least one year. First, let the Royal Aircraft Factory build special planes exclusive to Arthur and the royal family. Second, use a large number of flights to test the reliability of the aircraft to ensure the safety of the royal family members.

In addition to the passenger aircraft of the Royal Aircraft Factory, there is also good news for the Royal Dockyard in Sydney.

Six years have passed since Arthur proposed the theory of an aircraft carrier. After many experiments and researches, the Royal Sydney Dockyard has also achieved certain results.

In fact, although countries in the world do not currently have aircraft carriers in the true sense, as early as four years ago, the British realized carrier-based aircraft flight in the true sense.

In 1912, the British Charles Samson made a very great attempt. He took off from the anchored "Africa" ​​battleship with a Short S.27 biplane. The "runway" is a temporary deck.

Four months later, during a naval review in Weymouth, England, Samson again flew a biplane, taking off from the front deck of the underway HMS Hibernia at a speed of 4 knots.

This achievement shocked all the officers present and made countries all over the world pay attention to the research on the water take-off platform, that is, the aircraft carrier.

The Royal Sydney Dockyard has also found inspiration from this case, and has come up with two more mature aircraft carrier designs.

The design of the first type of aircraft carrier refers to the case of the British, transforming the battleship into an aircraft carrier, and using the front deck to take off against the wind.

The advantage of this design is that the combat effectiveness of the battleship is preserved. After all the aircraft take off, the aircraft carrier can immediately become a battleship and go into battle.

But the bad news is that because the aircraft carrier is transformed from the main body of a battleship, the length of the deck is not enough, and it needs to go against the wind and have enough speed to allow the aircraft to take off.

Secondly, a deck that is too short cannot accommodate many carrier-based aircraft, and the combat effectiveness of an aircraft carrier depends entirely on the number and performance of the carrier-based aircraft, which is also doomed to the low combat effectiveness of such an aircraft carrier.

The third is also a deck issue.Because the deck is too short, the landing of the aircraft is also a big problem.

Britain and France have done some research on such aircraft carriers, but they still can't solve the problem of aircraft takeoff and landing. Too short decks will cause the aircraft to have a certain probability of failure during takeoff and landing, and even the aircraft will slide into the sea uncontrollably .

The design of the second type of aircraft carrier completely abandoned the previous battleship design.

The aircraft carrier of the second scheme is mainly composed of long deck, armor protection, anti-aircraft weapons, power system and air carrier area.

On the premise of a larger size, it does not have the firepower of a battleship.Such an aircraft carrier relies entirely on the combat effectiveness of the carrier-based aircraft, and apart from its own certain anti-aircraft firepower, it also has no means of fighting the enemy.

But the good news is that an aircraft carrier designed in this way can carry more carrier-based aircraft, and because it has a long enough deck, it can allow the aircraft to take off calmly under any circumstances.

At the rear of the deck, there is also an intercepting device.Make sure that the plane taxis for a certain distance after landing, and is intercepted by the intercepting device on the deck, so as not to fall into the sea.

Because it has an independent aircraft-carrying area, which is the so-called hangar, an aircraft carrier designed in this way can carry more than 20 carrier-based aircraft at most.From the perspective of an aircraft carrier, the aircraft carrier of the second design is far superior to the first in terms of combat effectiveness.

The two types of aircraft carrier designs have their own advantages and disadvantages. The first design is more conservative and strikes a balance between aircraft carrier and battleship. The aircraft carrier can at least be used as a battleship.

The second design method is more extreme. It is an aircraft carrier in the true sense, and its combat effectiveness depends entirely on the 20 carrier-based aircraft.

Royal Sydney Dockyard submitted both carrier designs to Arthur, who determined the direction of Australasian carrier development.

If Arthur is not a traverser, he might choose the first option. After all, even if the aircraft carrier is useless, it can still be used as a battleship.

But Arthur understood that sooner or later battleships would be replaced by aircraft carriers.No matter how powerful the firepower and armor protection of the current battleships are, their detection range and firepower coverage are far inferior to aircraft carriers.

An aircraft carrier can dispatch a large number of carrier-based aircraft to directly destroy a battleship tens of kilometers away.

Unless the battleship has very good air defense capabilities, otherwise, the battleship really has no good way to face these threats above the sky.

Without too much hesitation, Arthur immediately determined the design of the second type of aircraft carrier, and named the design of this type of aircraft carrier the Giant-class aircraft carrier, and handed it over to the Royal Sydney Dockyard for construction.

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(End of this chapter)