Rise of Australia

Chapter 480
There are no activities on the New Year's National Day, and even as a normal flag-raising event, no one is allowed to watch.

It's not that there is any secret about the flag-raising event, but there is still a risk of influenza. For the safety of the people, it is better to have as few public gatherings as possible.

As we enter the new year, there is plenty of good news for Australasia.

The first is the indemnity compensation from the defeated countries and the United States. Australasia can receive about 1.2 million Australian dollars in indemnity, which is more than half of last year's total fiscal revenue, and it can be called a sudden wealth.

You must know that the total fiscal revenue of Australasia in 1918 was only 1.729 million Australian dollars, an increase of only 4% compared to the previous year, far less than the previous growth rate of 15% to 17%.

But there is no way around it. After all, influenza has a serious impact on countries all over the world. It is a blessing among misfortunes that Australasia can continue to maintain the growth of fiscal revenue.

If you include indemnities of up to 1.2 million Australian dollars from the defeated countries and the United States, Australasia's total revenue last year was close to 3 million Australian dollars, and its financial budget is quite wealthy. It is also the reason why Australasia is confident to develop the entire plain of the Murray River Basin. s reason.

Behind the growth in fiscal revenue, the total fiscal expenditure of the Australasian government last year was also alarmingly high.

Because of the free supply of supplies and free flu treatment across the country, the total fiscal expenditure of Australasia last year increased sharply, even almost exceeding the total fiscal revenue.

The total expenditure of A$1.704 million is enough to justify the Australasian government's efforts in the flu.This expenditure figure has increased by nearly 2500 million Australian dollars compared to last year, and it goes without saying that all of them are used there.

It can be expected that this year's total financial expenditure will definitely not be low.After all, the construction of the new capital officially started this year, which is a major project that has invested at least hundreds of millions of Australian dollars.

On January 1919, 1, Arthur, accompanied by many guards, quietly came to the Royal Sydney Dockyard to inspect the sea trials of the self-developed and self-produced aircraft carrier in Australasia, the Giant-class aircraft carrier, which had been under construction for two and a half years.

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

It is now the most critical testing period for these two aircraft carriers. If they can successfully pass this navigating testing period, it is expected that the two aircraft carriers will be put into use in the middle to late 1919.

This is great news for Australasia. The addition of two aircraft carriers can greatly improve the combat effectiveness of the navy, making Australasia's navy rank among the top five in the world in both size and actual combat effectiveness.

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

For an aircraft carrier in the true sense, the only thing that has achieved some research results is cause and effect.But if you count all the battleships and battlecruisers that were temporarily refitted during the war, the aircraft carrier actually appeared several years ago.

The combat effectiveness between aircraft carriers is very different from aircraft carrier to aircraft carrier. After all, false aircraft carriers are only temporary substitutes during wartime. The development of the navy still needs real aircraft carriers.

After the war, the relationship between Britain and Australasia was still relatively close, and the British aircraft carrier Arthur, which was researched by the British, had also heard about it.

The USS Arenas aircraft carrier proposed a plan in 1916 and officially started construction in April 1917. The progress was not much weaker than that of Australasia.

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

Of course, what determines the real combat effectiveness and role of an aircraft carrier is the carrier-based aircraft carried by the aircraft carrier.

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

Among them, there are 6 reconnaissance planes, 8 fighter jets and 10 bombers, which can fully guarantee the aircraft carrier's reconnaissance, air combat and enemy bombing work.

It is no exaggeration to say that the giant-class aircraft carrier equipped with 24 of the most advanced military aircraft in the world has far surpassed the most powerful super dreadnought in its combat capability and role.

If a super dreadnought and a giant-class aircraft carrier were to be singled out one-on-one, the winner would only be a giant-class aircraft carrier, and the super dreadnought would have no chance of winning.

There is only one reason for this disparity in the results, and that is that the effective attack distance of the super dreadnought and the effective attack distance of the aircraft carrier are too far apart.

Because of the aircraft, the giant-class aircraft carrier can carry out reconnaissance, combat and even bombing missions hundreds of kilometers away.

But the longest attack distance of the super dreadnought is also the longest attack distance of the main gun.At present, the furthest shipboard main guns have a range of tens of kilometers, and the hit rate of such large-caliber main guns cannot be guaranteed at all. The difference in range between the two sides is already huge.

It can be said that the aircraft carrier is the nemesis of the giant battleship.In the future, Australasia, which actually has an aircraft carrier, will be able to make up the gap with other countries with large battleships, and even rely on the aircraft carrier to overtake in the navy.

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.

Generally, it consists of an aircraft carrier plus several destroyers and more small warships. The majestic battleships in World War I and World War II have gradually lost their role with the birth of aircraft carriers.

After all, the cost of a super dreadnought is as high as about 200 million pounds, but the total cost of a giant-class aircraft carrier plus 24 aircraft is only about 150 million pounds.

An aircraft carrier built with a cost of 150 million pounds can suppress a super dreadnought built with a cost of more than 200 million pounds.

Countries around the world have spent a lot of money to build more super dreadnoughts. Facing the aircraft carriers built by Australasia and the United Kingdom, they know how to write the word want to cry without tears.

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

Take the United Kingdom as an example. Even though it was affected by the flu in 1918, the United Kingdom still started construction of two aircraft carriers, two super dreadnoughts and two battlecruisers.

If it weren't for the construction of these six main warships to continue until 1920, Arthur felt that the naval arms competition was still going on.

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

The coastal waters where the test was conducted were also completely blocked. After all, Australia's oceans are fully controlled by Australasia, and it is only a matter of words to block them.

No country would be foolish enough to challenge the status of Australasia in this area of ​​Oceania. Even Britain and France may not be able to shake Australasia's dominance in Oceania.

On the super battleship Hope, Arthur was patiently watching the performance of the two aircraft carriers with a telescope in hand.

Because the stability of the two aircraft carriers being tested cannot be fully guaranteed, Arthur still chose to watch the performance of the two aircraft carriers on the super dreadnought Hope.

The main tests of the two aircraft carriers are the rapid take-off and landing of three different types of aircraft, the precise detection and strike of the farthest target, and the rapid U-turn in a short period of time.

As a large warship with a full load displacement of more than 1.3 tons, the giant-class aircraft carrier is relatively small compared to the super dreadnought.

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

Of course, the important reason for the giant-class aircraft carrier to run so fast also relies on the fact that the military-class aircraft carrier has almost given up all its firepower.

In addition to some rapid-fire guns and machine guns used for air defense, that is, a few torpedo tubes hidden underwater, together constitute all the firepower sources of the Giant-class aircraft carrier.

As for the large artillery of conventional warships, it is impossible to see them on giant-class aircraft carriers.

But this is easy to understand. After all, aircraft carriers basically rely on aircraft for reconnaissance and firepower. Aircraft carriers rarely engage in hand-to-hand combat with enemy warships, and they basically do not have that capability.

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

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

Airplanes often need to taxi for a long time before they can gain enough power to fly.However, due to the design and purpose of the aircraft carrier, it is impossible to design it too long.

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 taxiing distance required by the aircraft.

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

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

You know, during the entire voyage of the aircraft, apart from human influence, the most dangerous stages are take-off and landing.

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

The giant-class aircraft carrier has specially designed blocking devices to help intercept aircraft that are too fast when landing, and prevent the aircraft from taxiing 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 indeed distressing.

In addition to the devices to assist take-off and landing, the giant-class aircraft carrier also deliberately covered the parking area of ​​the aircraft and the control tower of the aircraft carrier with thicker armor to ensure the protective performance of the aircraft carrier.

After all, the aircraft carrier's own firepower is actually not strong. If it does not have reliable protection capabilities, it can easily be attacked by submarines lurking underwater.

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(End of this chapter)