Subsequently, when Liu Zunling made arrangements, Bai Huawei issued an operational order as the commander of the fleet, as well as the latest operational deployment.

Task Force 41 continued eastward, passing over the island of Jotun before turning northward, entering the Northern Eastern Sea from the eastern edge of the Howaii Islands. A final refueling will take place before passing through the island of Jotun, and all ships will be loaded with fuel according to overload standards.

If you want to say, this is a great feature of the Imperial battleship.

In the era of coal burning, overloading was a very hard work, but it was not too much trouble. All that was needed was to stuff the battleship with coal, in fact, burlap bags full of coal. On a long voyage, there are no ports to dock along the way, and even the dining room and the officer's cabin have to be used. The battleship was full of coal, which would certainly have an impact on the daily lives of officers and men, and it would be difficult to keep it neat and clean.

In the era of burning oil, overloading was not so easy.

The heavy oil used in the boiler is a liquid and is stored in the oil tank. To overload a battleship, it is common practice to replace ballast with heavy oil.

As a rule, the ballast of battleships was seawater.

It is precisely so that the battleships have ballast water tanks on board.

However, it does not mean that the ballast water tank can be used as an oil tank and filled with heavy oil.

When heavy oil is mixed with water, it can cause a lot of problems, especially seawater, which has a lot of impurities. If it is not done well, it will even lead to boiler damage.

The point is that the seawater in the ballast water tank cannot be completely emptied, and there must be some residue.

If ballast water tanks are used to load heavy oil, it will inevitably be mixed with seawater.

Even before the First Global War, the Imperial Navy made it clear that the captain of a ship could not load heavy fuel oil in ballast tanks without a direct order from the fleet commander.

In addition, there is a less obvious, but security-related issue.

The specific gravity of heavy oil is lower than that of water.

In this way, the use of heavy oil as ballast will definitely lead to an increase in the center of gravity of the battleship, which will have an impact on the stability of the battleship under high sea conditions.

It was not until the Second Global War that the Imperial Navy developed a working oil-water separator, which basically solved the problem of oil-water mixing.

Unfortunately, only a few warships designed and built during the Great War were equipped with this equipment, capable of loading heavy fuel oil in ballast water tanks. Besides, by the end of the war, the Imperial Navy had enough fast combat support ships and fleet tankers, as well as many requisitioned tankers, that it was no longer difficult to refuel between voyages. As a result, many of the warships designed and built before the Great War were not modified during the war.

Crucially, after the Second Global War, the warship power system ushered in the third major change since the industrial age.

Gas turbines were born, and in just 20 years they replaced steam turbines as the main power of warships.

In addition, low-speed diesel engines basically dominated the power compartment of small warships.

Since the beginning of the industrial era, the steam engine, which has occupied the power compartment of ships for hundreds of years, has been withdrawn from the stage of history and has become an exhibit in museums.

Although in theory, marine gas turbines can use a variety of fuel oils, including heavy oil, but under normal circumstances, kerosene is still the mainstay, and a few times diesel fuel is used. As for the direct use of heavy oil, even if the gas turbine can operate, it will definitely cause a lot of trouble.

After entering the era of gas turbines, most warships were designed without thinking of using heavy oil.

Now, that's even more so.

The key is that the performance of marine gas turbines is getting stronger and stronger, the power-to-weight ratio is getting higher and higher, and the fuel economy, maintainability and failure rate and other indicators are several orders of magnitude higher than in the past. As a result, higher requirements are placed on fuel quality.

It is precisely because of this that many warships were designed without thinking of using heavy oil.

Well, the oil-water separator, developed during the Second World War and aimed mainly at heavy oil, became an ornament.

In order to solve the problem of overloading, so that the shorter-range warships can load more fuel when necessary and gain a longer range, the Empire's ship engineers racked their brains and thought of many solutions. It's a pity that most of them are just ideas, and they have no practical value at all, and they have not even turned from ideas into samples. In the end, it was only in the Navy that the tactical performance indicators were relaxed, and it was resolved.

This so-called "new technology" is not technology at all, but a clever design.

To put it simply, the ballast water tank is made as small as possible in the way of small compartments, and it is divided into two layers. The biggest advantage of this design is that it can drain the water from the upper tank into the lower tank, ensuring that it does not mix with seawater when the upper tank is used to fill the oil. The reduction in the volume of the water tank will certainly lead to an increase in the mass of the structure, but it will be easier to manage the balance. That is, when necessary, the water tanks that have run out of fuel can be refilled with water to enhance the stability of the battleship.

Because of this design, the empty weight of the "Chen Bingxun" class has increased by about 500 tons.

It's just that it's not a big price compared to the range you get after being overloaded.

Under normal circumstances, the maximum range of the "Chen Bingxun" class can reach 20,000 nautical miles after the maximum overload tonnage and the addition of 4,000 tons of marine fuel. Even when sailing in combat condition, it can increase the range by about 3,000 nautical miles, which is equivalent to one less refueling during the voyage.

Other large warships are similar, capable of extending their range by 2,000 to 4,000 nautical miles by overloading.

Of course, there are definitely risks.

If the ballast water supply and drainage system fails, or if the fuel tank is damaged, or for other reasons, the seawater mixes with the fuel oil, and the gas turbine will definitely be damaged.

Although this problem was taken into account in the design, and necessary precautions were taken, such as the fuel supply system of each gas turbine is operated independently, and the probability of several gas turbines failing at the same time is very low, but for a warship with 4 or at most 8 marine gas turbines, even if only one gas turbine fails, it will definitely have an impact on the operation.

At the "Chen Bingxun" level, this problem is even more prominent.

The Chen Bingxun class has eight 25-megawatt large marine gas turbines and two steam generation systems driven by heat recovery.

This powertrain, even now, is very advanced.

However, the drawbacks are also very prominent.

Eight gas turbines are the heart of the entire aircraft carrier, and as long as one fails, it will inevitably have an impact on the combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier.

The key is a steam generator that relies on the exhaust gases emitted by the gas turbine, or more precisely the waste heat from the exhaust gases.

At the other end of the steam generator are 4 sets of steam catapults on the aircraft carrier.

In fact, it was because of the development of the steam generator that the Imperial Navy decided to abandon the steam power system and use gas turbines to drive the aircraft carrier.

As a result, the "Chen Bingxun" class became the world's first large aircraft carrier to be powered by gas turbines.

Although theoretically, only 2 gas turbines are needed to work to drive 1 set of steam generators, but the catapult consumes a lot of steam when working, so it has to replenish energy for the steam generator. According to the design, only after all four gas turbines are started, can the steam generator reach the maximum design power, and the corresponding two sets of catapults can be pushed to catapult the carrier-based aircraft at the fastest frequency.

The main reason for this design is that in normal times, there is no need to let the steam catapult work at the fastest frequency.

In addition, it is also related to the characteristics of the steam turbine.

To put it simply, gas turbines have the highest fuel efficiency when they are working at full load, and the economy of low-speed operation is not good.

Under normal conditions, no more than 4 of the 8 gas turbines are in working condition.

If it is just a daily crossing, there is no need for frequent take-off and landing of carrier-based aircraft, and the operation of two gas turbines at full power can make the "Chen Bingxun" class reach a cruising speed of 16 knots. Even if frequent take-off and landing of carrier-based aircraft is required, it is enough to have four gas turbines running at full power. Only in combat, especially in a full-deck attack state, that is, in a short period of time to dispatch a large number of carrier-based aircraft, it is necessary to use 8 gas turbines at the same time.

All in all, the power system of the "Chen Bingxun" class is very distinctive, which sets a benchmark for future aircraft carriers.

As for the drawbacks, it's equally obvious.

It is precisely because in peacetime that no fleet commander will overload an aircraft carrier, especially with the use of ballast tanks that are not too reliable to load fuel.

According to Bai Huawei's arrangement, after reporting his whereabouts to the naval command, he will enter a state of radio silence.

The key point is that Bai Huawei's order was not only aimed at the 41st Task Force, but also at the 61st Task Force, which was approaching, and the shore-based air force in the Khowaii Islands. If necessary, the Air Force would have to provide cover for Task Force 41.

The core idea of the battle plan was to enter the Guia Ocean from the most unlikely direction.

If Task Force 61 can successfully distract the Nuland fleet, by the time Task Force 41 arrives, it will be able to catch the Nuland fleet by surprise.

For this reason, Bai Huawei issued a very special order to the 61st Task Force.

Pretend to be Task Force 41 and strike at the Nuland forces that landed on the Transit Island as soon as possible.

The easiest way is to change the logo of the carrier-based aircraft, and have the pilots of the carrier-based aircraft change the number of the unit, using the call code of the 41st Task Force.

All in all, it was to convince the commander of the Nuland fleet that Task Force 41 had returned to the vicinity of Transit Island.

In addition, it is necessary to intensify search and reconnaissance efforts.

Unfortunately, the official airfields of the Khowaii Islands were bombed, and there was no way to deploy large aircraft, so they had to rely on the North Malaysia Islands and the Isle of Wai.

Even if the Air Force cooperated, the assistance provided would be limited.

The main thing is that there is a lack of fighter cover, and it is no different from sending electronic reconnaissance planes and early warning planes out to search for them, which is no different from sending them to death.

In order to find the Nuland fleet, the Air Force has sent dozens of large reconnaissance aircraft, and almost all of them have gone without returning.

In fact, the key to this battle is to find the Nuland fleet in time and accurately grasp its whereabouts.

Otherwise, the 41st Task Force, which is alone behind enemy lines, will definitely be besieged.

If it is attacked in the eastern waters of the Guia Ocean, not to mention that the 41st Task Force only has three large aircraft carriers, even if three more aircraft carriers are added, and all of them are replaced by supercarriers, it will be more than lucky.

Of course, if you do it, you can turn the tide of the battle.

When Bai Huawei was making deployments, Jiang Wenlong did not intervene.

Actually, his mind wasn't here at all.

At the beginning, Bai Huawei revealed a very surprising information to him.

It was not the one he first guessed, that is, the leaders of the Empire and the Republic of Nuland realized that a new era had arrived, and the third round of military changes initiated by the empire, and the new military doctrine related to it, would completely change the face of war, so that other countries would lose the war before starting the war, and even lose the ability to start the war, so they chose to take the risk at this time and provoke a third global war through the carefully arranged Bosa Bay War, so as to make a final effort to defeat the Liangxia Empire, or to lock in the strategic pattern.

What shocked Jiang Wenlong and lost his mind because of this was another thing.

From the very beginning, the upper echelons of the empire did not think that they could win the third global war, or even that they could achieve a relatively perfect ending.

According to the pattern of a global war, any effort to win will pay a heavier price than victory.

Of course, this is just Jiang Wenlong's speculation.

Bai Huawei only hinted at him, but did not tell him directly.

Still, this hint is scary enough.

Jiang Wenlong first thought that Bai Huawei, who originally tended to be conservative, is now acting so proactively, which must be related to this speculation.

The point is that it is impossible for the imperial authorities to make peace with the enemy in the event of a crushing defeat.

In order to cease fighting, it is first necessary to contain the enemy's offensive and hold the strategic line of defense.

It is only when the tide of war reaches a stalemate that the belligerents take seriously means other than war, such as armistice negotiations.

In Guia, how can the war enter a stalemate?

The answer is very obvious, the Howai Islands.

As long as the Nuland army suffered a defeat in the Khowaii Islands, even if it could not be attacked for a long time, they would negotiate an armistice with the Empire before the balance of forces changed.

If the Nuland army had chosen an island in the eastern part of the archipelago, such as Honu Island, that would have happened within a few months.

The eastern part of the archipelago is a large island, and all of them have a large number of garrisons, which is very difficult to attack.

If anything, the biggest surprise was that the Nuland Navy bypassed the entire Khowaii Islands and directly attacked the transit islands.

This variable put the 41st Task Force in a very awkward position.

From another point of view, if the Nuland Navy chooses to attack Hono Island, Task Force 41 will be in a more ideal position to attack and defend the Nuland Fleet, whether it remains in the southwest of the archipelago or near Jotun Island.

Now this situation makes Bai Huawei have to take risks.

The point is, if Task Force 41 were to withdraw, even if it successfully joined Task Force 61, it would certainly not be able to achieve a major victory in a few months that would be large enough for the Nuland Republic to sit down at the negotiating table and negotiate an armistice.

In addition, if the Transit Island were to fall and the Khowaii Islands were to fall, the war would surely last for several years.

From this point of view, even if the 41st Task Force suffered a crushing defeat in this risky military operation, or even the total annihilation, it would be nothing more than a few more years of war fighting, and it would not be more serious than the negative impact of the fall of the transit island and the loss of the Khowaii Islands.

So, what else is there to worry about?

()