If Arthur remembers correctly, Britain's first aircraft carrier in the true sense of the word should have been built in the late part of World War I, around 1917 and 1918.

At that time, the British aircraft carrier was still converted from a cruiser, but the main guns in the front were eliminated and replaced with a downward sloping wooden runway.

Such a design has too many flaws, which is why during World War II, aircraft carriers gradually became the first choice for warships of various countries.

However, the second aircraft carrier design of the Royal Shipyard in Sydney can solve the shortcomings of cruisers or battleships converted into aircraft carriers.

Under Arthur's decision, Australasia has built two more giant-class aircraft carriers in addition to the construction of two super dreadnoughts in a new round.

The Giant-class aircraft carrier is a completely new warship design, not a battleship and cruiser converted from the British.

According to the preliminary design of the Giant-class aircraft carrier, the new warship has a standard displacement of about 11,500 tons, with a full load displacement of more than 13,000 tons, which is far behind the tonnage of current battleships.

You must know that the current mainstream super dreadnoughts have a full load displacement of nearly or even more than 20,000 tons.

This also makes the Giant-class aircraft carrier a little smaller than the Hope-class battleships, and even does not have the large number of main guns of previous warships.

The Royal Shipyard of Sydney has designed an all-through flight deck for the Giant-class aircraft carrier, which allows aircraft to take off and land better on the aircraft carrier.

At the same time, the aircraft carrier also has a closed bow, which is better able to withstand wind and waves, and strengthens the all-through deck.

As a result, the Giant-class aircraft carrier has a length and width of 180 meters and a draft of 5.7 meters, respectively, and is capable of carrying a full 20 aircraft.

Because all the main guns were abandoned and only a small number of anti-aircraft weapons were equipped, the Giant-class aircraft carrier lost a considerable part of its weight and increased speed on the premise of having the same power system as the super dreadnought.

The expected speed of the Giant-class aircraft carrier can reach 25.5 knots, which is relatively fast among large warships.

Of course, although it has been decided to build two Giant-class aircraft carriers, Arthur and the Australasian government will not take the initiative to disclose the news of the aircraft carriers until other countries expose the aircraft carriers.

This kind of stupidity of strengthening other countries Arthur would not do, although Australasia has achieved a significant lead in aircraft.

You must know that the combat effectiveness of an aircraft carrier basically depends on the number and performance of carrier-based aircraft. Australasia's aircraft are all the most advanced in the world, far ahead of other countries' aircraft research and development progress.

It also means that even if Australasia's aircraft carrier development progress is the same as that of other countries, the actual combat effectiveness of aircraft carriers is far higher than that of other countries.

Along with the official start of construction of the aircraft carrier, a three-month inspection tour began to the states and territories of Australasia.

The purpose of the inspection was to examine whether the states and colonies had been affected by the war and the real standard of living of the population.

There is also urging state governments to improve the reserves of strategic materials, medical supplies, etc. If Arthur remembers correctly, the famous Spanish flu will arrive in a few years.

Arthur's memories of the influenza are too deep, both because of the resurgence of such an epidemic virus, and secondly, because the number of infections and deaths caused by the Spanish flu is quite exaggerated.

Arthur still vividly remembers the tragic end of the Spanish flu, which infected at least 500 million people and killed at least 20 million.

Until then, the total population of the world was only about 1.7 billion, and one in three people was infected with the Spanish flu, and one in every 100 people died from the Spanish flu.

What's even more terrifying is that the number of deaths from the Spanish flu is not exact, but it is definitely more than the number reported and counted by countries.

If Arthur remembers correctly, the flu spread at the end of World War I and the return of soldiers from all over the world.

Because of the long and exhausting war, all countries are spreading the good news of the victory in the war, and there is no news that can make the people panic like the Spanish flu.

As the first country to be very honest about the outbreak of influenza in its country, Spain was naturally frantically dumped by countries around the world, and this flu was named Spanish influenza, which is also known as the Spanish flu.

But in fact, the first recorded occurrence of Spanish flu occurred in a military camp in Kansas, USA, followed by cases of influenza in countries such as France and the United Kingdom.

It can only be said that Spain has become the one who bears the blame, otherwise this flu would have been named the American flu or the European flu.

The most terrifying thing about the Spanish flu is his lethal dose of more than 20 million.

Even in the First World War, which lasted several years, the death toll in history was just over 10 million.

The fact that such a disease has taken more human toll than a global world war is enough to prove how terrible this flu is.

Arthur did not dare to guarantee that he would be able to fully resist the disease, so he could only ask the government to prepare enough medical supplies in advance, and be ready to close the borders during the epidemic and survive the disaster as much as possible.

As for the life and death of other countries, it is not up to Arthur to control for the time being.

While Arthur's national inspection was in full swing, the war in Europe was once again very anxious and intense.

As the clock ticked to October 1916, Germany and Britain and France fought again in Verdun and the Somme region, and the number of casualties in each country continued to increase every day, even jumping in steps.

But if you want to say that the most difficult country should be the Russian Empire, which has entered the cold at the moment.

Although it was only October, much of Tsarist Russia had become cold, and St. Petersburg and Moscow in the north had become a land of ice and snow, cloning the ancient city in a white coat.

If it were usual, the Russians would have long been accustomed to such cold. But now it is different, because of the consumption of the war, the people at the bottom lack coal, food and daily necessities, and life is extremely difficult.

In fact, the Russians are not short of money. Their salaries have increased compared to before the war, and their per capita income has even risen by several percent.

But the problem is that the magnitude of the increase in prices in Russia is much more exaggerated than the increase in Russian wages.

Because of the lack of supplies, most of the large quantities of supplies brought from Britain, France and Australasia were transferred to the front.

Some materials that are not lacking at the front line have been speculated to sky-high prices in China, held in the hands of those capitalists, and it is impossible to buy them without spending a lot of money.

Even the coal resources that are urgently needed for heating in Russia have increased more than fivefold in just two years.

Russian civilians at the bottom were faced with a difficult choice, either to buy coal for heating or to buy food to fill their stomachs.

Only one of the two options can be chosen, because their salary can only buy one of them.

In desperation, many Russians huddled together and leaned on each other for warmth to resist the coming winter.

Even many families pooled their money to buy coal, and then dozens of people crowded into a ten-square-meter room, and the red light through the cracks in the stove illuminated everyone's faces, but it could not hide the sadness on people's faces.

Not to mention heating, even cooking Russians share a stove with several families in order to save on that damn extravagant coal bill.

You know, it's only October. When the winter of January and February really comes, who knows how many people in Russia will freeze to death?

Perhaps it is very likely that these Russian civilians with sad faces will freeze to death this winter.

What's worse is that, in addition to coal, the prices of various daily necessities, industrial products, food, medical supplies, and even salt and condiments are growing.

The price of grain has more than tripled, and industrial products have increased fivefold. Even if it is a common daily necessities, buying one at will cost a month's salary for Russians.

There are many reasons for this situation in Russia, such as inflation, rebellions and strikes in the factories, huge attrition at the front, and the capitalists' hoarding of goods to make a fortune.

Anything can be a headache for a country, but Russia has experienced it all.

In other European countries, popular demonstrations would take the government's attention, opposition parties would attack the government, and the media would follow suit.

But in tsarist Russia, no one cared about the lives of these ordinary people. No way, who let Russia have a population of more than 100 million.

In other European countries, the loss of millions of people can be distressing. But in Russia, the loss of population does not exceed 10 million, and the Russian top brass does not know what distress is.

But the current situation in Russia does not stop there. The common people of St. Petersburg are fine, after all, it is located in the capital of the empire, and the government will not embarrass the situation in St. Petersburg too much.

But in Russia's remote villages and cities, the rise in supplies is extremely exaggerated. It is even rumored that for every 10% increase in the wages of civilians, the price of food doubles.

If a small number of Russians before the war were hungry, only a small number of Russians today will not go hungry.

If we cover up the identity of the Tsarist Empire as a great power, and just look at the remote villages and cities of Tsarist Russia through the eyes of a bystander, we can be surprised to find that the living conditions in these areas are no different from those of the colonies of the great powers, and even the government's exploitation of the people will be more serious.

When a country cannot guarantee even the most basic living needs of its people, it is time for the country to be subverted.

In the shadows of seemingly calm Russia, a raging tide is plotting.

3000 words for the first update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)