In the Bohai Sea in mid-April, the sea surface is calm and the wind and waves are very small. The ice floes on the surface of the sea have also melted.

On the back of the Bohai Sea, it has become a military exclusion zone for the Empire. As early as half a month ago, the empire had already announced that it would hold a military exercise in this sea area, and ships of other countries were not allowed to enter this sea area. Otherwise, it will be regarded as spying on the military intelligence of the Empire.

In order to ensure that the exercises were not monitored by other countries, the Pacific Fleet of the Imperial Navy deliberately dropped a large number of warships to escort the exercise. Dozens of destroyers and cruisers were deployed in the nearby seas. As soon as a suspicious ship is spotted, it will immediately warn and expel it, and if it does not heed advice, the Imperial Navy will have the right to sink it. You must know that the current empire is fully qualified and confident.

On the battleship Fuxi, the flagship of the Pacific Fleet of the Imperial Navy, Emperor Wu Haoxuan and a group of high-ranking officials of the Imperial Cabinet and the Admiralty were waiting on the deck of the battleship Fuxi. About five kilometers in front of the battleship Fuxi, an abandoned merchant ship was sailing. The abandoned merchant ship will be used as a target ship for the exercise. Carrier-based aircraft taking off from an aircraft carrier will attack the target ship, simulating an attack on an enemy ship sailing on the surface.

Of course, this is only a preliminary exercise in the attack capability of carrier-based aircraft. In actual naval battles, the enemy ships will be faster and more defensive. It won't be sunk as easily as a target ship.

At present, the target ship is sailing at a speed of 12 knots, and the people on the target ship have long been withdrawn. Otherwise, the carrier-based aircraft will undoubtedly injure the sailors on the target ship when firing live ammunition.

On the battleship Fuxi, Emperor Wu Haoxuan was discussing with the Prime Minister and the senior officials of the Admiralty.

This year, the U.S. president has changed its cabinet, led by Warren Gamelir Harding. Replaced the cabinet led by Woodrow Wilson. As the most industrially powerful country in the world, the change of the leadership of the United States is a major event for the whole world. Of course, for the Chinese Empire, no less concern. China and the United States. Already two of the most powerful countries in the Pacific Rim. The two countries are also fraught with a lot of contradictions. It is not even excluded that these contradictions will lead to war in the future.

"Your Majesty, it's been almost a month since Harding came to power. It can be seen that Harding's governing philosophy is somewhat different from that of Woodrow Wilson. The Harding Cabinet focused more on developing the domestic economy and improving American leadership in the world by increasing the economic power of the United States, rather than emphasizing military development like the Wilson Cabinet. At the end of the day, though, the Americans all wanted to wrest world hegemony from the British. This is the same purpose as the Empire. As long as neither of us compromises, we will ultimately have to rely on war to resolve all disputes. Imperial Prime Minister Yang Du said.

Though. The empire has grown rapidly over the years. But because the foundation is too weak, there are too many debts. So much so that if the empire wants to confront the United States, it is still a little powerless. In addition, the geographical location of the United States also determines that it will be very difficult for the empire to defeat the United States. Therefore, the path of the empire and the United States in their struggle for world hegemony is destined to be tortuous.

"Hmm. No matter how the leaders of the Americans change, their essence will not change. The only thing we can do. It is to develop oneself as much as possible and practice internal skills. When the strength of the empire increases, it will naturally not care about the Americans. Wu Haoxuan said.

Yang Du and the others all nodded again and again. The empire wants to compete with the United States for world hegemony, which is destined to be a protracted war. It's almost impossible to decide a winner in a short period of time. However, everyone believes. In this war, the empire will definitely win in the end.

Wu Haoxuan looked at the target ship in the distance, and then looked at his watch, the time seemed to be almost up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today the Imperial Navy's aircraft carrier fleet will conduct an attack exercise. Let's wait and see. Soon, everyone will understand why I attach so much importance to the construction of the aircraft carrier fleet. Wu Haoxuan said.

"Yes, it must." Everyone replied. However, there is also a hint of suspicion in the eyes of some people. The aircraft carrier fleet wants to break the doubts in everyone's hearts and replace the battleships as the main force in the development of the Imperial Navy, and there is a long way to go.

About fifty nautical miles north of the battleship Fuxi, a small fleet was sailing against the wind. In the center of the fleet is an aircraft carrier with a direct access to the deck, on which planes are parked. The aircraft carrier side lift, which is transporting the carrier-based aircraft from the hangar to the deck. Ground crews are also busy, reloading carrier-based aircraft with ammunition and fuel.

This aircraft carrier is the experimental aircraft carrier of the Imperial Navy, numbered 01. Everyone called this aircraft carrier Aircraft Carrier 01.

The No. 01 aircraft carrier has a standard displacement of 17,500 tons, a full load displacement of 23,700 tons, a total length of 195.6 meters, a width of 31.2 meters, and a draft of 7.6 meters. It is equipped with 12 large oil-fired boilers and two new steam turbines, with a power of 48,000 horsepower, a maximum speed of 25 knots (26.5 knots at sea trials) and a cruising range of 12 knots and 9,000 nautical miles. There are 1,200 members, including 200 officers. It was armed with 8 105 mm rapid-fire guns, 12 twin 88 mm guns and 24 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine guns. (At a time when China was vigorously developing its aviation forces, the development of anti-aircraft weapons did not stop). The most powerful weapon of the aircraft carrier is not the artillery equipped with the aircraft carrier itself, but the fighters on it! At the time of design, the 01 aircraft carrier would carry 48 warplanes and four seaplanes. Fighters are mainly used to attack targets, while seaplanes, with their long range and ease of take-off and landing, are used to detect and discover targets!

The Imperial Navy's aircraft carrier No. 01, because it is an experimental aircraft carrier, has relatively rudimentary performance. However, from this humble aircraft carrier, a trace of a modern aircraft carrier can already be seen. First of all, the bow of an aircraft carrier is a closed bow, unlike the open bow used by aircraft carriers in many countries. In addition, the ship island is on the side of the aircraft carrier, which is convenient for fighters to take off and land, and also convenient for commanding operations.

In addition to the seaplanes, the rest of the fighters carried on the aircraft carrier No. 01 are mainly divided into three categories. Including 12 F5B fighters, 12 FC dive bombers and 24 YL torpedo attack aircraft.

The reason for this configuration is simple. When dealing with surface targets, torpedo attack aircraft are a greater threat than dive bombers. Of course, there is another reason, that is, the current dive bombers cannot carry out large-angle dive bombing because of the structural strength, so the accuracy of bomb delivery cannot be guaranteed. After more advanced dive bombers are equipped with troops, the carrier-based aircraft formation on the aircraft carrier will also be adjusted.

FC dive bomber with a length of 10.4 meters, a wingspan of 13.2 meters and a height of 2.8 meters. It is equipped with a W-7 water-cooled engine with a maximum output of 350 hp and a maximum speed of 240 km/h. With a maximum take-off weight of 1400 kg, it can carry a bomb weighing up to five hundred kg. When bombing a target, you can dive at a 60-degree angle of inclination (due to the material, it is not possible to dive at a near-vertical angle). It is armed with a 12.7 mm aviation machine gun with 400 rounds.

YL torpedo attack aircraft with a length of 10.8 meters, a wingspan of 12.8 meters and a height of 2.6 meters. It is equipped with a W-7 water-cooled engine with a maximum output of 350 hp and a maximum speed of 240 km/h. With a maximum take-off weight of 1300 kg, it is possible to carry a light torpedo of 330 mm. This light torpedo, with a rate of fire of 30 knots and a range of two thousand meters, has extremely lethality against small and medium-sized naval warships. Of course, against large surface ships, such as heavily armored battleships, the damage dealt is very limited.

As for the seaplanes carried on the No. 01 aircraft carrier, it is the 'Seagull' seaplane, which is the main reconnaissance aircraft of the Navy, and although the maximum speed is only 160 kilometers per hour, the maximum range is 1,000 kilometers.

Although, the small number of fighters on board limited the combat effectiveness of the 01 aircraft carrier. However, considering that the 01 aircraft carrier is only an experimental aircraft carrier, it is still barely acceptable.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is our best chance to express ourselves. I won't say much more, if you want to be a blockbuster, it's up to you today. All of you, prepare with your heart. Ten minutes later, the carrier-based aircraft began to take off. Rear Admiral Chen Houfu said to the pilots of the aircraft carrier.

"Yes, General." All the pilots have a strong fighting spirit in their eyes. Everyone knows that their fate is in their own hands, and it depends on this battle.

When the time came, one plane after another took off from the aircraft carrier, and the first to take off was the F5B fighter, which is the naval version of the F5 fighter, with similar main performance, but with a strengthened structure and landing gear. This was followed by FC dive bombers, and finally YL torpedo attack aircraft. After takeoff, the fighters formed in the air and then flew south.

Because it was an attack exercise, the location of the target was already known for a long time. Carrier-based pilots only need to fly over the target and drop bombs directly, as they usually do.

On the battleship 'Fuxi', the Emperor and many high-ranking military and political officials of the Empire were looking forward to the performance of the Imperial Aircraft Carrier Fleet. Because, the strength they show will be directly related to the future development of the Imperial Navy. Is it a priority to develop aircraft carriers, or is it equally important to give priority to aircraft carriers and battleships? Of course, no one dares to say that only battleships will be developed, not aircraft carriers. In that case, it is undoubtedly going against His Majesty the Emperor, and the consequences are very serious. (To be continued.) )

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