Britain, which relied on maritime supremacy to become an empire on which the sun never sets, has declined after the end of World War II, but after all, it is still a traditional naval power.

Strong scientific and technological heritage and strong manufacturing capabilities have made the British naval base complete and large-scale, and the Portsmouth naval base is a typical representative.

Britain's most important naval base is located directly south of the United Kingdom, bordered by the English Channel to the south, with the Isle of Wight as a barrier, and about 100 kilometers northwest of London.

This was Nathan's first visit to Portsmouth Naval Base, which in his eyes was much smaller than Mirama Air Station. And from the point of view of a naval aviation, the Ark Royal, docked on the dock, also looks smaller.

"Major Nathan, I'm a fan of yours." When Nathan arrived at the base, he was greeted by a British officer.

This man is not tall, the beard on his face is neatly shaved, his eyes are full of determination and confidence, and the general star on his shoulder represents his military rank.

He is just a major, and the other party can come to greet a general of the same level, but Nathan is also flattered by the fact that a general has come.

"I'm Woodward, welcome to Portsmouth." Maj. Gen. Woodward held out his hand to Nathan.

Woodward? Nathan was immediately linked to the history of later generations, and in the Falklands War a few years later, he was the commander-in-chief of the aircraft carrier formation!

It's all peers!

Nathan also held out his hand: "General Woodward, it's a great honor to come here to visit. ”

"Lady Emily, you're beautiful." Woodward continued to speak to Emily on the side.

There are a lot of secrets in the fleet, and if it is a civilian visit, it is said that Emily cannot come in, but Emily also has an identity, which is the intelligence officer of the CIA, so even if she comes into contact with some secrets, she is also measured and will not talk nonsense.

Emily was in a good mood, Nathan had been looking forward to returning to the fleet, well, he was going to seize the last few days with Nathan, it was a rare trip.

Shaking hands politely, Rear Admiral Woodward said, "Major Nathan, allow me to show you our aircraft carrier first, which one do you want to go to first?" ”

At this time, the Eagle aircraft carrier has been decommissioned, and it is in the prime of life, but it was decommissioned because the short-sighted politicians in the parliament stuck the neck of military spending, and the tens of millions of pounds of refit fees were unwilling to pay, so they simply decommissioned directly!

Only the Ark Royal remains, although it is still in service, but the prospects are not optimistic, there will be a fate of retirement at any time, the latest invincible class has not yet entered service, and there is an old dragon bell of the Athletic God.

Athletic was a product of the end of World War II and was later modified to serve in the Navy, and now, the original catapult for fixed-wing aircraft has been removed and has become an amphibious support and anti-submarine aircraft carrier, mainly carrying anti-submarine helicopters, but also carrying incoming vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

In contrast, the Athletic is more valuable to visit, especially the Sea Harrier vertical take-off and landing aircraft above, which can be said to be a fist product that the British Navy can handle.

Unfortunately, Nathan wasn't interested.

"I'd like to go aboard the Ark Royal." Nathan said.

This is an aircraft carrier with a full load displacement of 50,000 tons, belonging to the fleet aircraft carrier, with a beveled deck and a steam catapult, if this aircraft carrier was still in service with the British Navy during the Falklands War, it will definitely not be the result in history.

The British Navy's only fixed-wing fighter force was deployed on HMS Ark Royal, including Ensign Clive.

Therefore, when he heard that Nathan was going to visit the aircraft carrier, Ensign Clive immediately became interested, and several people took the vehicles of the base and headed in the direction of the dock.

"It's a pity that the aircraft carrier has been moored all the time, if you go to sea, Major Nathan, you can fly our ghost fighter and feel how powerful the power of the ghost in the Spey is." Ensign Clive said to Nathan.

Nathan nodded: "Yes, I really want to take a test flight, I haven't catapulted from an aircraft carrier for a long time, how long will the next aircraft carrier make a sortie?" ”

Hearing Nathan's question, the expressions of several Englishmen were stiff, but it was Second Lieutenant Clive who spoke: "We don't know when the next sortie will be." Because, our fuel costs have not been approved. ”

Nathan, who listened to it, was also speechless for a while, how can it be a big country, why can't the navy even guarantee a basic training fee?

However, it is also the case that an aircraft carrier will consume an astronomical amount of money once it is dispatched, and after the national strength is weakened, they may not be able to maintain it.

The atmosphere was a little awkward, and Emily pointed to the aircraft carrier deck in the distance: "There is a soldier standing on the aircraft carrier, he looks like an old man, is he the captain of the aircraft carrier?" ”

"That's our Admiral John Federhouse." Woodward said.

What is an admiral doing here, who does not work in his own command post? Nathan was immediately curious, and at the same time, excited.

This guy is the supreme commander of the British fleet in history, with a British fleet like a weak chicken, he crossed the ocean and defeated Argentina, which was even weaker.

Now, is it worrying about the future of the British Navy?

The car passed through the bridge and drove directly to the deck, where it stopped next to General John.

"General, what are you pondering?" Woodward asked.

General John did not look back, still looking at the empty deck, and every time he returned from a voyage, the carrier-based aircraft would take off and fly to the base on land.

"It would be great if we could have Tomcat fighters and equip them on our aircraft carriers!" General John sighed: "It's a pity that even the last batch of ghost fighters may be sent to the Air Force now." ”

After saying that, he turned his head, but saw two raw faces.

"Ma Huali? Oh no, it's Major Nathan. Old General John's sentence shows that he doesn't know how many times he has seen Top Gun, this film is a hit all over the world, the venue is full, and it is talked about by naval aviation.

"The general is quite right, an aircraft carrier without fixed-wing carrier-based aircraft cannot protect the security of the fleet at all." Nathan said: "Without air supremacy, there is no sea supremacy, and there is a lot of passivity just by relying on air defense ships. The Tomcat fighter was the most suitable choice for the British fleet. ”

Of course, Old Admiral John knew this, but he still shook his head helplessly, the current British Navy is a skinny camel.