Munitions Empire-Chapter 897 - The massive fleet on the high seas

Chapter 897: The massive fleet on the high seas Chapter 897: The massive fleet on the high seas Over 700 kilometers away from Dragon Island, in the southern seas, a colossal fleet was navigating the waters. On a destroyer cruising in the distance, radar was actively scanning the surrounding sea surface, ensuring that no vessels could approach the true core of the fleet.

The very heart of the entire fleet was the four massive aircraft carriers sailing in the middle. Flanking the aircraft carriers on both sides were two bulky battleships cutting through the waves as they moved.

The flat decks of the four aircraft carriers were packed with Naval Stuka Dive Bombers and brand-new Pirate Fighters.

Interestingly, while the Air Force of Tang Country was gradually phasing out the Stuka Dive Bomber, the Navy was increasing its number of Stuka Dive Bombers.

Judging by the two models of aircraft equipped by the Navy, Marshal Bernard seemed to have a special fondness for the inverted gull wing design, utilized in both the Stuka and Pirate models.

This wing type allowed the landing gear to be shortened, enabling the aircraft to carry larger bombs while using shorter landing gear.

The Stuka Dive Bombers could carry a 500-kilogram aerial bomb or opt for an aerial torpedo, thanks in large part to their inverted gull wing design.

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Of course, no matter how you looked at it, the fixed front landing gear of the Stuka Dive Bomber was considered outdated.

But Naval Aviation, especially carrier-based aviation that was already a late starter, naturally had no reason to complain about their equipment being behind the times.

Besides, the non-retractable front landing gear did reduce airspeed, but it also somewhat increased drag and improved dive bombing performance—it wasn’t utterly useless as one might imagine.

After all, few of Tang Country’s competitors could match the Stuka Dive Bombers, let alone have fighter jets that could catch up, so being a bit technologically behind didn’t really hinder their practical use in combat.

The Tang Country aircraft carriers, which almost plagiarized the American Essex-class aircraft carrier, had a full load displacement of over 34,000 tons and were undoubtedly considered maritime behemoths.

Despite the aircraft carriers’ displacement not matching that of contemporary battleships, their high freeboard and reduced armor made them appear much more massive than battleships.

Each aircraft carrier was equipped with three elevators; their decks stretched close to 266 meters in length and over 44 meters in width, ensuring the launch and retrieval of the carrier-based aircraft.

Sailing alongside them, the full load displacement of Tang Country’s version of the new Bismarck-class battleships exceeded 50,000 tons, making them look somewhat sleeker in comparison.

After all, these two battleships built by Tang Country, intended as armed escorts for the aircraft carriers, were less than 242 meters in length and only 36 meters wide, seeming smaller than the Tang version of the Essex-class aircraft carrier.

The new Tang battleships, rigged with countless anti-aircraft guns and completely forgoing the manual 37mm guns, had a similar function to America’s duck decoy: they were designed to serve as shields for Tang Country’s aircraft carriers.

It was absolutely necessary to build such shields since, in complex battle situations, the small stature of the destroyers alone couldn’t guarantee the absolute safety of the carriers.

However, unlike the historical Bismarck that ventured out alone to engage in commerce warfare, the primary function of Tang Country’s battleships was to serve as anti-aircraft platforms beside the aircraft carriers.

Thus, compared to the historically anti-aircraft weapon-deficient Bismarck battleship, Tang Country’s battleship was piled up with as many anti-aircraft guns as possible.

This led to the ship’s silhouette being cluttered with uneven rows of barrels, resembling a hedgehog more than the sleek and clean profile of the historical Bismarck.

To enhance the combat capabilities of its battleship, Tang Mo had installed new radar systems and radio proximity fuses on the battleship—a technology so precise and cutting-edge that it was not yet equipped by Tang Country’s land-based Anti-Aircraft Artillery Troops.

With the Navy’s projectiles either exploding in the air or plummeting into the sea, it made sense to prioritize equipping such a potent anti-aircraft weapon.

The Bismarck-class battleship’s 128mm dual-purpose high-angle guns were all outfitted with this kind of ammunition, significantly enhancing their anti-air capabilities.

Of course, the battleship teemed with numerous 88mm and 40mm anti-aircraft guns—they were as plentiful as hairs on an ox.

In reality, owning air supremacy over the seas, Tang Country did not need to load a battleship with so many anti-aircraft guns. However, Tang Mo still felt that caution was prudent, recalling how the Bismarck of the past life was sunk by the outdated 37mm anti-aircraft guns.

To ensure the complete safety of the aircraft carriers, none of the anti-aircraft guns on the Essex-class carriers were omitted.

The entire Tang Country Navy Fleet was like a floating anti-aircraft artillery position, brimming with various air defense weapons.

If one were to solely examine the design of Tang Country’s destroyers, they would notice that in maintaining ferocious anti-air firepower, even the capability for naval artillery combat had been diminished.

Without torpedoes as a desperate measure, Tang Country destroyers might suffer greatly in battles against enemy destroyers.

The spacious deck somewhat compensated for the poor landing visibility of Tang Country’s Pirate Fighters. After all, with the carriers’ decks being so expansive, precision was not paramount when landing aircraft.

To ensure that pilots could safely land their aircraft on the deck of the aircraft carrier, Tang Mo had introduced the Fresnel Optical Landing System.

This system was invented by the British in 1952 after the end of World War II and was not meant to be deployed on early aircraft carriers.

However, Tang Mo was a man from a later time, and with relevant data and blueprints at his disposal, this system—which was not particularly precise or advanced—was directly equipped on Tang Country’s first-generation aircraft carriers.

With extremely detailed blueprints and actual combat data, the starting point for Tang Country’s aircraft carriers was very high, virtually no different from modern aircraft carriers.

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The reason he didn’t directly use an angled deck design was that Tang Mo was not yet ready to immediately deploy jet aircraft into combat, and he also planned to sell some aircraft carriers at an opportune moment to make some extra profit.

After all, wasn’t he an arms dealer? Reducing any weapon to its price tag had almost become second nature to him in his line of work.

To him, aircraft carriers were certainly not something that could not be sold, and selling them would not pose any threat to his country’s navy: haven’t you seen that even when Russia sold the Gorshkov to India, the Indian navy didn’t get that much stronger, did they?

Anyway, when I sell you an Essex-class, I can use the Fujian-class … Well, we are all brothers!

“The second strike group has completed formation!” An officer approached Bernard, who was waiting for news on the bridge, and saluted to report.

Bernard took up his binoculars and saw the Stuka dive bombers that had already formed up in the distant sky, nodding with satisfaction.

To train a group of carrier-based pilots capable of combat as quickly as possible, they had been drifting at sea lately.

The outer layer of destroyers was responsible for driving away fishing boats and other naval warships, ensuring that this large fleet of aircraft carriers would not be discovered at close quarters.

Fleet supplies relied entirely on supply ships, which also constituted a remarkable feat: while testing the striking abilities of experimental carrier-based aircraft, they also experimented with various new supply technologies for the supply fleet.

This included lateral underway replenishment, vertical replenishment, and other initiatives—vital technologies to ensure that the fleet could sustain high-intensity operations at sea. Without these technologies, it would be impossible to ensure that one’s own fleet could maintain continuous, high-intensity combat operations at sea.

“This is a telegram from Sea Wolf 411, a fishing boat has been spotted aft and to the side of the fleet, heading in the same direction as our fleet,” another officer walked over and reported the latest message to Bernard.

To ensure absolute secrecy for the fleet, Tang Country not only deployed destroyers equipped with radar on the perimeter, but also scattered many submarines, creating an airtight security perimeter around the fleet.

This telegram was sent by a submarine that had spotted a suspicious fishing boat, warning the fleet to be prepared and to remain concealed.

“Following us?” Bernard was startled, then a mocking smile appeared on his face. His fleet could reach speeds over 55 kilometers per hour, making it quite difficult for a fishing boat to give chase.

“It could be, or it could be a coincidence. But its proximity is too close, somewhat dangerous,” the adjutant expressed his opinion.

“Order a destroyer from the rear of the fleet to intercept it!” Bernard made a decision almost at the same time.

“Understood!” The officer saluting once more and then turned to relay the message.

In no time, one of the destroyers that had been following the fleet flickered its searchlight twice before quickly changing course.

Due to its high speed, the bow of the destroyer shattered the waves, leaving two white trails on the sea. Its hull tilted during the high-speed turn, looking quite thrilling.

“Woo!” As it charged towards the fishing boat, all the cannons on the destroyer aimed at the unidentified fishing boat and sounded the whistle, issuing a deafening alarm.

“Raise the flag! Emit the international light signal! Warn the other party they are interfering with the navigation of our ship! Order them to change course immediately!” The captain of the Tang Country destroyer put down his binoculars and ordered his adjutant.

“The other party is sending signals, emphasizing that this is international waters on the universal frequency…” Shouted the officer who was monitoring the radio channel.

“Send the signal as I’ve said! And remind them on the radio that if they continue to interfere with our ship, we will open fire and sink them!” The captain spoke coldly, “I hope they do not provoke the Great Tang Navy!”

Once again lifting his binoculars, the captain saw that the other fishing boat was still maintaining its original course. As the seconds ticked by, thirty seconds later, the captain put down the binoculars: “Load the main gun! Raise the battle flag! Prepare for combat!”

“Load the main gun! Raise the battle flag! Prepare for combat!” The adjutant turned his back, raised his voice, and issued the combat order.

Seconds later, the fishing boat flying the flag of the Laines Empire began to change course, speeding away as if fleeing.

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The update will be very late, so everyone watch it tomorrow morning…