Yes, it is indeed this method of launching, in which the entire hull is lowered laterally along the sloped slipway. The behemoth, made of thousands of tons of steel, instantly fell into the water, stirred up a huge wave of emptiness, and quickly straightened itself, swaying violently several times, and finally came to a steady stop in the water. This process of changing from static to dynamic to static, although it is not long, is still very spectacular.

Colonel Henry turned around and said to Andrei, who was still looking at the water: "General, how is it, you have never seen a ship launched like this, have you?" ”

Andrei immediately shook his head, and then replied: "Colonel Henry, I've only heard of it before, and it's the first time I've seen a lateral dive, but I remember that this type of launching requires a very high level of hull strength?" ”

Colonel Henry smiled and said: "The general is really expert, first of all, I want to say that this kind of lateral slide into the water has great advantages, because it uses a shorter lateral slipway, the ship uses gravity to roll sideways and fall into the water, and then relies on buoyancy to straighten the hull and float in the water." This kind of side-slip launching method is more suitable for places with small water area, insufficient slipway length, and no open water for longitudinal launching, especially suitable for shipyards where ships build ships in batches. ”

I waited for him to finish, thought for a while and asked, "Colonel, but the vibration and impact of the lateral slide into the water on the hull is relatively large, will it cause the equipment installed on the ship, if the hull is not strong enough, not only the hull but also the equipment may be damaged?" ”

Andrei remembered the information about the lateral slide into the water. Due to the large impact force of lateral sideslide launching on the hull and equipment on the ship, it is easy to cause deformation of the hull structure or damage to the equipment, so the design and construction technology of the warship with sideslide launching have high requirements.

For a long time, in the shipbuilding industry, there is a very important job in the process of ship construction, which is to launch the water. There are many ways to launch ships, which are divided into gravity longitudinal launching and transverse launching according to the mode of movement, which is suitable for most ships; Floating dock launching, suitable for very large vessels.

Dock launching belongs to the floating launching method, the oldest and simplest, that is, the ship is built directly in the dock, after the construction, the dock is filled with water, so that the ship can float up by itself by welfare, and then open the dock lock, and the launching is completed. The disadvantage of launching a dock is that it is more expensive, and it does not refer to the cost of launching auxiliary materials, but to the cost of filling and pumping water in the dock.

For example, the USS Ford, the lead ship of the latest generation of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy, was launched on October 11, 2013, using dock water injection for the simple reason that this nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has a displacement of up to 100,000 tons and is not suitable for gravity launching.

Longitudinal launching is the most common in modern shipbuilding, where the slipway is built with a slope of 1/20, the stern facing the sea, and the ship "retreating" into the sea along the slipway. The process of longitudinal launching is more complicated, because the stern of the ship first touches the seawater and floats up when launching, and the bow is still on the slipway during the period, which is easy to cause the deformation of the ship structure due to gravity, so the longitudinal launching has higher requirements for the strength of the slipway and the ship structure.

In ancient times, sailing ships were usually launched longitudinally with butter on logs or slipways, and steel balls are usually used for longitudinal launching in modern shipbuilding. The advantages of longitudinal launching are that it has a wide range of applications, can be used by large, medium and small ships, the launching equipment is simple, the cost is relatively small, and the launching slide and auxiliary materials can be recycled and reused.

As mentioned above, the disadvantage of sideslipping into the water is that the requirements for the hull are very high, because the instantaneous impact is too great.

Moreover, the side water is only suitable for small tonnage, and the tonnage is too high. In 2008, the 57,000-ton bulk carrier built by Wuhan Qingshan Shipyard was not an inland shipyard, the length of the slipway was insufficient, and the Yangtze River waters faced by the shipyard were not open enough, so the way was used to turn sideways into the water, thus creating a world record and maintaining it.

Next, Colonel Henry said, "So we will arrange for engineers and technicians to inspect the warship." As for more things, Henry didn't continue to chat, he walked around the Norfolk base for a while, and when it was time for dinner, Andre looked at Henry and said, "Colonel, I remember that the food standard of your American Navy is very high, I don't know if I can taste it?" Henry laughed and said, "The general is really polite, in fact, our sailors have a big opinion on food!" And Andrei began: "The weekly menu of the public canteen of the battleship New York, which began on November 27, 1933

Monday

Breakfast: fresh pears, fried pork sausages, fried potatoes in barbecue sauce, polenta, bread, butter, coffee

Lunch: boiled barley crackers, pan roast beef, vegetable cold cuts, boiled potatoes, boiled cabbage, lemon jelly cake, bread, butter, coffee

Dinner: fried hamburger steak, fried onions in gravy, baked potato chips, boiled lima beans, fig filling shortbread, jam, bread, butter, tea

Tuesday

Breakfast: fresh fruit, whole grain breakfast cereal, fresh milk and sugar, corned beef floss, toast, french fries, bread, butter, coffee

Lunch: Creole bisque, beef patty, mashed potatoes, butternut, pickled beets, pear and apple pie, creamy raisin bread, butter

coffee

Dinner: Steamed sausages with southern mustard, potatoes and onions, boiled sauerkraut with fresh pork, raisin cake (chilled), finger bread, bread, butter, coffee

Wednesday

Breakfast: fresh fruit, roast pork with beans, tomato sauce, French toast, jam, bread, butter, coffee

Lunch: potato soup, tonkatsu, baked potatoes with sauce gravy, cereal crackers, fresh apple pie, sliced cheese, bread, butter, coffee

Dinner: Roast beef and pork strips, sauce-colored gravy with fried potatoes, oven baked beans, lemon meringue tart, onion slices, bread, butter, tea

Thursday

Breakfast: fresh fruit, scrambled eggs with bacon, brown baked potatoes, dry toast, syrup, bread, butter, coffee;

Lunch: "Thanksgiving Special"

Dinner: Roast beef in the oven, sauce gravy with mashed potatoes, vegetable salad and mayonnaise, cornstarch fruit pudding, bread, butter, hot cocoa

Friday

Breakfast: broken wheat, fresh milk and sugar, corn kernels roast minced beef, tomato sauce, cinnamon and almond rolls, bread, butter, coffee;

Lunch: spaghetti soup, fried fish, mashed potatoes, green beans, pickle sauce, pumpkin puree, cranberry jam tart, bread, butter, coffee;

Dinner: beef stew with sauce, tortellini, boiled lima beans with green corn, asparagus in butter, pickled beets, fruit pudding, bread, butter, coffee

Saturday

Breakfast: fresh fruit, cereal, fresh milk and sugar, roast pork with beans, tomato sauce, German fruit sweet bread, bread, butter, coffee;

Lunch: rice and tomato soup, spiced roasted ham, boiled potatoes, boiled cabbage, pickled cucumber, ice cream, bread, butter, coffee;

Dinner: fried luncheon meat, breaded potatoes, boiled fava beans, lettuce and tomato salad, peach pie, jam roll, butter, hot cocoa

Sunday

Breakfast: fresh fruits, ground beef, home-cooked potatoes, fried potatoes, syrup, bread, butter, coffee;

Lunch: celery soup, simmering roast beef cutlet, fried onion with celery, mashed potatoes, creamy beans carrots, chocolate raisin pie, bread, butter, coffee

Dinner: Sliced cold beef tongue, fried potatoes, navy baked beans, shredded salad, boiled salad dressing, pastry crumbs with jam, bread, butter, tea

The cost of food for the previous week was $2,779.05, and a total of 7,300 people were prepared, at a cost of $0.3806 per serving.

Another: Thursday, November 30 noon Thanksgiving dinner menu:

Creamy potato soup, sweet pickles, black olives, celery, the main course is roast turkey with cranberry dressing, barbecue sauce and sage sauce, then sugar-marinated potatoes, turnip puree, lettuce salad, fruit cake, ice cream (topped with crushed pralines, chocolate and fudge) and finally "Pike Mansion rolls", butter and coffee, your country has literally moved the restaurant to the warship! ”

I remember that after reading it, Andrei had a feeling of envy, jealousy, hatred and even wanted to cry, at that time, the United States was still in the predicament of the global economic crisis and did not completely come out, but the food of the Navy was still so good, and the menu of a meal was taken out, even if it was in later generations, it was at least the standard of 200 yuan for high-grade Western restaurants, so it was not an overnight thing to catch up with US imperialism!

Moreover, the galleys of American warships are generally electrified, and the efficiency is also high! Henry is also convinced now, the one he received is really an intelligence expert, and he even inquired about the menu so clearly, but this is the pride of the US Navy, after all, this reflects the strength of the US Navy, but looking at Henry's smug expression, Andrei was also angry, so he remembered a stalk of stealing torpedo fuel, so Andrei looked at Henry and said: "However, I am interested in trying torpedo juice, your submariners are very smart!" ”

As soon as these words came out, Henry's face couldn't hold it, because what, this is the ugliness of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Navy abolished the rum ration in 1862, stipulating that only when you have been at sea for at least 45 days and have less than 5 days to enter the port, you can apply to the fleet headquarters to hold a "beer day" drinking. However, on June 1, 1914, Josephus, then Minister of the Navy? Daniels issued General Order 99, which completely banned the carrying of any alcoholic beverages on U.S. Navy warships. Beer Day came to an end, and the U.S. Navy did not reinstate Beer Day until 1980 and limited each sailor to two cans of beer at a time.

Therefore, American sailors during World War II had to face the "bitter" life of fighting on the ocean without a drop of wine. But it was difficult for American sailors, who prided themselves on their innovation in research and development, to find an unusual source of drinking alcohol: torpedoes.

The old Mk.10 torpedoes, as well as the newer air-launched Mk.13, submarine-launched Mk.14 and ship-launched Mk.15 torpedoes, were used in the early stages of World War II with steam turbine propulsion fired by compressed gas tanks. The air-fired fuel was grain ethanol supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the sailors responsible for torpedo maintenance soon discovered that the fuel from these killers could be used as a delicious drink.

Of course, the torpedo uses ethanol with a concentration of up to 90%, which is undoubtedly a pure spirit by the standards of drinking alcohol, and it is not only pungent when hidden, but also easier to drink drunk. As cocktails became popular during the U.S. Prohibition era to avoid censorship, sailors mixed ethanol stolen from torpedoes with juice from warships to hide their eyes and make it easier to drink. One of the most popular is the cocktail mixed with pineapple juice, affectionately known to U.S. Navy sailors as "torpedo juice."

The U.S. Admiralty was certainly not foolish, and after the "torpedo juice" gradually leaked, the Admiralty began to mix 5 to 10 percent of fuel ethanol with a dye called "Pink Lady", along with some methanol. However, American sailors soon discovered that a large stack of squeezed bread could filter out the dye and most of the methanol, and "torpedo juice" continued to be popular in the Navy. Among the many naval units of the US Navy in World War II, "torpedo juice" was the most favored by submarine forces, so much so that some captains turned a blind eye to this act of stealing public fuel.

After all, living in a closed and dense submarine compartment all day long, eating half-rotten food, breathing choking air, hunting enemy ships while constantly guarding against the attack of anti-submarine forces, without the occasional alcohol to boost morale, the captain himself did not dare to guarantee that he would be able to successfully complete the mission. The sailors did not steal too much fuel and the torpedoes could not work, nor did they indulge in the temptation of "torpedo juice" all day long.

However, bread could not filter methanol thoroughly, and after the Admiralty gradually increased the amount of methanol added, some sailors began to go blind due to methanol poisoning. Taking into account the effects of non-combat attrition, as well as the inhumane consequences of blindness, the Admiralty replaced methanol with croton oil as an additive. Croton oil is not filtered by bread and does not cause permanent damage to the human body after drinking, but it can cause severe gastrointestinal vomiting and extremely painful muscle cramps.

It's a pity that the road is one foot high, and the witty sailors soon discovered that the boiling point of croton oil is higher than that of ethanol, so small distillation equipment was born in the small cabin of the submarine. They were called "Gilly" by the sailors, and the wine filtered in this way was also referred to as "Gilly". In fact, at this point, it is impossible to say that these sailors do not have the tacit approval and support of the captain and senior officers.

The back-and-forth between the Admiralty and the sailors ended with the serial entry into service of the Mk.18 electric torpedo. With the end of World War II and the entry into service of new internal combustion engine torpedoes, the old ethanol-fueled torpedoes gradually died out, and the "torpedo juice" completely disappeared from the US Navy.

I have to say that this American sailor has the potential to be a chemist!

But Henry quickly smiled and said: "In fact, it is still in a state of prohibition of alcohol, so I should invite the general to drink Coke!" ”

After having lunch at the base, Andrei returned to Washington in the evening, and then he needed to return to Moscow in advance, because he was the first to return to the delegation, but this trip to the United States, he really experienced the strength of the United States and the horror of productivity, and the bald eagle in the future has full wings! But the polar bear is scarred!