India, Mumbai, Koh Chang Palace Pier.

"This, this is an aircraft carrier?"

"Yes, my majesty, this is our aircraft carrier!"

"But it's too small, isn't it? Who built it? ”

Standing on the side deck of the ironclad USS Warrior, Kaiser Wilhelm looked at a "baby aircraft carrier" powered by four oars and was incredible.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, this is an aircraft carrier!" Marquis Nelson, Minister of War of the Indian Empire, told Kaiser Wilhelm in a very positive tone, "This is an aircraft carrier built by Hindustan Shipbuilding on the basis of a full set of drawings and technical information provided by Thomson Shipyard in England...... Guaranteed quality! ”

"That's it, and the quality is excellent?" Kaiser Wilhelm almost gave the Marquis of Nelson an offset, "How can an aircraft carrier be so small?" It must have been the Indians who cut corners...... Also, how is this aircraft carrier rowed with oars? My marquis, are you old and painted? Do you think that such an aircraft carrier with oars can go to sea to fight? ”

This emperor is still quite imaginative, no matter how unreliable this Hindustan shipyard is, it is impossible to turn a 20,000-ton aircraft carrier into a 200-ton sampan mothership!

In fact, this time, the Hindustan shipyard really did not cut corners, but completed the construction of the aircraft carrier in full accordance with the drawings and design requirements and quality and quantity. And the time taken to build this aircraft carrier is also very short, from the start of construction to delivery, it took only twenty days.

"Your Majesty, this aircraft carrier should be so small," said the Marquis of Nelson to Kaiser Wilhelm with great certainty, "and the aircraft carrier is not an airship carrier, nor is it an aircraft-carrying battleship, so there is no need to build it too large." Because the airship is large, and the battleship itself is also very large, the airship carrier and the aircraft-carrying battleship have to be large.

How big is an airplane? A flight deck of sixty or seventy feet (18-20 meters) is sufficient, and there is no need for a flight deck several hundred feet long at all. ”

Nelson has a point!

Why do aircraft carriers have to be built bigger? Being able to carry planes to fight wars is theoretically an aircraft carrier, and it has to be a big guy with more than 10,000 tons.

Nelson went on to analyze: "And a flight deck of several hundred feet must be installed on a large ship with a standard displacement of about 20,000 tons, which is a huge target in wartime, and can easily be discovered and sunk by the enemy."

And this 200-ton aircraft carrier is different, its target is small, it is difficult to detect and hit, and its value is very low, if the plane is not on the deck, then it is even less valuable than a fishing boat with sails, and even if it is discovered by enemy aircraft, it will not necessarily be bombed..... It is not even as expensive as a torpedo or a 200-pound bomb. ”

This Marquis Nelson is really right! There are very few people in this world who would dive into a small 200-ton wooden boat in an airplane...... That thing is so small, you can't necessarily hit it if you throw 10 bombs, isn't that a waste?

"As for the question of going to sea for war......," Nelson continued, "the aircraft carrier is towed by destroyers, so its own power is dispensable. When releasing carrier-based aircraft, the destroyer can pull the aircraft carrier and gallop upwind at a speed of 28 or even 30 knots, so that the carrier-based aircraft can use the flight deck of 60 or 70 feet to complete takeoff. ”

"I see!" Kaiser Wilhelm nodded, and his knowledge increased! It turned out that the aircraft carrier was two or three hundred tons, had no mechanical power, and could only be towed by destroyers or small boats driven by oars......

"But this carrier-based aircraft can also land on such a small deck?" Kaiser Wilhelm immediately realized that something was wrong, "I remember that this plane had to taxi a long distance when it landed, right?" ”

"Your Majesty, you are right." Nelson raised his hand and pointed to the plane swinging on the 200-ton aircraft carrier, "Look...... It was a seaplane with two pontoons underneath, which landed on the water when it was retracted, and then a special aircraft crane was hoisted onto the aircraft carrier. Your Majesty the Emperor, if you look there, it's a specialized aircraft crane ship. It is larger than an aircraft carrier, with a displacement of about 500 tons, and the ship is equipped with a steam engine, which can also run long distances, but the maximum speed is only 13 knots, and usually only 10 knots. If you want to keep up with the fast fleet, you have to rely on other ships to tow it. ”

Kaiser Wilhelm looked in the direction of Nelson's finger again, and sure enough, it was a small steamboat with a boom.

"Marquis, how many aircraft carriers do we have now?" Kaiser Wilhelm asked again, "Can you support our Indian navy in launching a counterattack against the Ming Empire?" ”

"We now have 20 aircraft carriers and 10 aircraft cranes...... Another 20 aircraft carriers are being built at the Hindustan shipyard and will be completed within a month. ”

This is really the highlight moment of Hindustan Shipyard, 40 aircraft carriers are started at a time, and 40 aircraft carriers are completed with quality and quantity in a maximum of 2 months from start to delivery!

"That's 40 aircraft carriers, it should be enough!" Kaiser Wilhelm nodded, "But can every aircraft carrier be equipped with carrier-based aircraft?" ”

"Yes!" The Marquess of Nelson said, "The pilots are training on British soil, and in a month they will be brought to India with carrier-based aircraft. At that time, our Grand Fleet will have enough air power. ”

"That's great!" Kaiser Wilhelm breathed a sigh of relief and asked Nelson with a smile, "Marquis, how are we going to use these 40 aircraft carriers?" Are they going to use them to counterattack the Strait of Malacca? ”

"No," the Marquis of Nelson shook his head, "the Duke of Wellington and Viscount Palmerston estimate that according to the conditions insisted by the Ming negotiators at the Vienna Peace Conference, the focus of the next phase of the Ming attack is not India, but Australia!" ”

Nelson paused, and then said, "So I think our next step should be to quietly transfer the main force of the fleet to the Australian side, and then deploy around Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, which is the gateway to the east coast of Australia and the starting point for our counteroffensive from the South Pacific to the north." If the Ming were to take Australia and New Zealand by force, they would have to take control of Port Moresby first.

Therefore, the Solomon Sea to the northeast of Port Moresby and the Coral Sea to the southeast will be fiercely contested in the future! If we can win there, then the expansion of the Ming Empire will be halted. Otherwise, we risk losing all of Australia! ”

Emperor Wilhelm frowned and said, "Marquis, if the next step of the Ming Dynasty is not to attack Australia but to attack India, then what should we do?" As soon as the main forces of the Grand Fleet leave, the coastline of India will be unprotected! What will happen when they land in India in a big way? ”

Nelson said: "If they don't attack Australia and choose to target India, then we can attack from Australia!" ”

"Where to strike from Australia?" Kaiser Wilhelm asked, "Fight Japan?" ”

"No," Nelson shook his head, "Japan is not a good target...... I think Hawaii would be an ideal target. ”

"Hawaii?" Kaiser Wilhelm thought for a moment, "What's there?" ”

"There is the home port of the Pacific Fleet of the Ming Navy!" Marquis Nelson said, "The Ming Pacific Fleet was responsible for supporting the operations of the Mexican Empire and the Texas Japanese Self-Defense Forces...... It is very likely that he is also directly responsible for commanding the Texas Haizi. So Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was a very important base, not only stationed a large number of ships, but also a logistics and transshipment center.

In the event of an attack by us on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the Ming Dynasty will suffer heavy losses, and the entire American direction will also be affected. The Americans will also take the opportunity to launch a strong attack in the direction of Texas!

In this way, the Ming Empire had to push the operation in the direction of Australia to ensure the security of the Pacific supply line. And as long as there is a fight in the direction of Australia, the Indian Empire will be able to sit back and relax! ”