Chapter 440 Passenger Aircraft and Aircraft Carrier
Arthur adheres to the principle that the European war is the best time for Australasia to develop. When Europe started the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme, the development of Australasia was however There are no delays.
First of all, the third phase of the Leonora Industrial Base has been fully completed and put into production, which is great news for Australasia.
The total construction area of the third phase of the entire Leonora Industrial Base reaches tens of thousands of acres, which can accommodate more than 500 very large factories, nearly 2,000 small and medium-sized factories and hundreds of large storage areas.
This industrial base alone will create at least 550,000 jobs for the country and enhance the development of Australasia's industry, mining, economy, people's livelihood and other aspects.
With the support of the Australasian government, the factories in the Leonora Industrial Base are basically full, with nearly 3,000 large and small factories already occupied.
It is no exaggeration to say that the Leonora Industrial Base is the Ruhr area of Australasia and is the center of gravity and heart of Australasia's current industry.
According to the Australasian government's estimates, the total production capacity of the Leonora industrial base will account for more than one-third of Australasian industry throughout 1916, which is greater than the value of all industrial output in non-Australia combined. many.
It is precisely thanks to the completion of the third phase of the Leonora Industrial Base that Australasia's current total steel production has reached nearly 7 million tons, growing very rapidly in the past two years.
In addition to growth in industry, Australasia's total cultivated land area has reached 34.45 million acres, and the per capita cultivated land area has reached 2.09 acres, and has always remained above two acres.
Of the 34.45 million acres of total cultivated land, Australasia (Australia plus New Zealand) has 31.13 million acres, and the colonies and territories have 3.32 million acres.
Australasia's annual grain output has reached more than 16 million tons, and its annual grain exports have reached a terrifying 10 million tons.
This is not a small number. With the deepening of the war, the per capita distribution of food in European countries has been significantly reduced.
If 10 million tons of grain are saved, it will be enough to feed 50 million people for a year. Even in previous peacetimes, it was enough to feed at least 40 million people for a year.
Australasia's grain is exported to Western and Eastern Europe. It is an important grain supplier to Britain, France and Russia, as well as a supplier of meat, cattle and sheep.
From the start of the war to the present, Australasia exports more than two million cattle and sheep to Europe every year. Together with canned food made from wild rabbit meat, camel meat, kangaroo meat, etc., Australasia exports to Europe every year. The total amount of exported meat products has reached a terrifying million tons.
It is no exaggeration to say that Australasia is an important supplier of food and meat to Europe, providing important supplies to millions of troops.
Arthur was very pleased with the growth of Australasian agriculture. If the newly acquired colonies are developed, the annual output of Australasia will increase even more.
Not to mention the current population of more than 16 million, even if the population doubles again, we are fully capable of feeding it.
In addition to the development of industry and agriculture, what Arthur is most satisfied with is probably the transportation construction of Australasia.
Following the industrial, railway and northern railways, most of the construction of the eastern railway has been completed.
The Western Railway in Western Australia, as well as the railway in eastern Australia connecting Queensland, New South Wales, the Capital Territory and Victoria, have been completed.
The only remaining railway line in South Australia was from Darwin to Port Augusta, which was expected to take until the end of 1917 to be completed.
For Australasia, the most important railways in the western industrial area and the railways in the eastern developed areas have been completed. The total railway mileage in Australasia has exceeded 30,000 kilometers.
In addition to the completion of the Central Railway, there is another more important thing for Australasia, and that is the improvement of train speed.
Under the painstaking research of engine expert Diesel, the new locomotive adopted by the Australasian transportation department uses the dual power mode of steam and internal combustion engines, which can stabilize the vehicle speed at more than 62 miles (100 kilometers), and can exceed 70 kilometers during downhill periods. miles (115 kilometers).
After many tests, it was determined that the locomotives with this power method had strong stability, and were subsequently purchased in large quantities by the transportation department and used in railway transportation.
The breakthrough in train speeds is a very important outcome for Australasia. Australasia is a very large country, and its most important homeland, Australia, is also very large.
The Australian region is thousands of kilometers long, whether vertically from north to south or horizontally from east to west.
This means that if you set off from the far west to the far east, it will take at least a week to reach it based on the previous train speed.
But after using the new locomotive, in theory, it only takes two days to reach the westernmost point of Australia from the easternmost point.
This can greatly facilitate communication between Australian states and regions, and can also facilitate the government's material transportation between Australian regions.
After Australasia's total railway mileage ranks among the top six in the world, Australasia's transportation capabilities are already world-class and can properly respond to any accidents that occur in any region.
In the next construction plan of the transportation department, in addition to thoroughly improving the construction of the central railway, a large number of railways will be built in the newly occupied areas, including New Guinea, Sulawesi and the Persian Gulf coast, to strengthen the construction of these railways. regional dominance.
At the same time, further railways will be built in Australasia, along the Murray River, and in New Zealand to ensure that the army can quickly reach every inch of the country.
Of course, the major arms factories in Australasia are not idle either. The independent Royal Aircraft Factory is capable of manufacturing more than 500 aircraft per year, and the Agricultural Machinery Factory has built more than 500 T-14 tanks.
Whether it is a fourth-generation military aircraft or a T-14 tank, they are Australasia’s final trump card hidden in the dark.
It also represents the top technology of Australasian military technology and is an important guarantee for Australasia to safeguard national interests.
The T-14 tank Arthur does not plan to make it public for the time being. After all, this tank technology is at least ten years ahead of the level of British tanks.
At most, when the third generation tank is about to be born, the technology of the first generation tank will be disclosed to the outside world in exchange for sufficient funds.
Such methods are used by many countries now and in the future. Theoretically, no country will reveal its latest technology unless it reaches the most critical moment.
As the saying goes, the trump card you think is just my conventional weapon, and my conventional weapon is your trump card.
In any case, it is necessary to ensure that military technology is sufficient to lead most or even all countries before it can realize its plan unscrupulously.
Another good news for Arthur is that in addition to military aircraft, research on civilian aircraft, that is, passenger aircraft, has also made considerable progress.
It has been six years since the previous generation of passenger aircraft SF-1, which researchers jokingly called Big Belly One, was successfully developed.
Through the joint efforts of the engine research laboratory, the former aviation laboratory and other factories, the Big Belly No. 2, a passenger aircraft officially codenamed SF-2, was officially developed and has passed preliminary testing.
When Arthur received the news, he immediately rushed to the current Royal Aircraft Manufacturing Factory to check it out.
Compared to unstable airships, airplanes are undoubtedly a better choice for travel. Not only can it save more time than an airship, but it is also safer than an airship.
The SF-2 passenger aircraft has a maximum load capacity of 3.7 tons. In addition to carrying 12 passengers, including the driver, it can also transport more than 500 kilograms of luggage.
After the engine upgrade, the average flight speed of the SF-2 has reached 190 kilometers per hour, and the maximum flight speed can exceed 215 kilometers.
This speed is almost twice the speed of the improved train and more than three times the speed of the pre-improvement train.
Coupled with the upgrade of the fuel tank, the maximum range of the SF-2 equipped with a larger fuel tank has exceeded 1,700 kilometers, which can greatly facilitate people's daily travel.
If you take the train, it takes at least 2 to 3 days to travel from the far west to the far east of Australia.
But if you take a plane instead, it will only take a little more than a day to get there.
If equipped with a few more auxiliary fuel tanks, the maximum sailing distance can be extended to more than 2,000 kilometers, saving refueling time on the road. Of course, current airplanes, like airships, are just a way for wealthy people to travel.
Because each plane only has 12 seats, the maximum number of passengers it can carry is only 11 after excluding one pilot.
This results in the current passenger aircraft serving more governments and high-level officials of various countries, and it is basically impossible to spread them to middle- and low-level people in a short period of time.
Even in later generations, there are still a large number of people who cannot afford to fly, let alone more than 100 years ago now.
According to the aircraft manufacturer's estimates, the cost of a voyage for such an SF-2 passenger aircraft is at least 2,000 pounds.
This also means that even if you just share the cost, each of the 11 passengers will have to share nearly 200 pounds and 400 Australian dollars.
This is 7 to 8 times the per capita annual income in Australasia. It is impossible for middle- and low-income people to spend nearly ten years of salary to experience a flight.
Although it may seem like planes cost less than airships, the opposite is actually true.
At present, the ticket price for traveling around the world by airship has been reduced to about 600 pounds, but if you use a plane to travel around the world, it will cost at least 50,000 pounds, which is as high as more than 4,700 pounds per seat.
Looking at the whole world, those who can spend nearly 5,000 pounds to travel around the world are definitely at the top of their country.
If airplanes want to be truly popular among civilians, we may have to wait until the end of World War II.
This does not prevent Arthur from planning to build airports across Australasia. Firstly, it will make it easier for him to travel to various parts of Australasia for inspections. Secondly, it will facilitate domestic and foreign exchanges.
For Arthur, the royal family's special plane and his own plane are indispensable. Arthur even has plans to build an exclusive private airport for the royal family near Sydney Palace to facilitate the daily travel of the royal family.
The most obvious point is that the distance between Sydney and Clinton is only over 2,200 kilometers. Equipped with two auxiliary fuel tanks, the SF-2 passenger aircraft can already arrive in one trip, achieving twelve-hour mutual access between Australia and New Zealand. .
As the two most important and core regions in Australasia, the distance of more than 2,000 kilometers makes communication between the two regions slow.
With the technology of second-generation passenger aircraft, it will be helpful for high-level exchanges between the two regions, making the connection between Australia and New Zealand closer.
If we can wait for faster and more convenient third-generation passenger aircraft in the future, I am afraid that it will no longer be a dream for New Zealanders to travel to Australia in ten hours.
Before this, due to the distance across the ocean, communication between the two regions could only be done by ship or airship.
However, international circumnavigation does not have many stops in New Zealand, so most of the routes from Sydney to Wellington are Australasia's own routes.
Firstly, there are fewer airship flights, and secondly, the price will be more expensive than circumnavigation.
A single trip by ship between the two places takes at least two days, or even three to four days.
This also gave rise to a sense of estrangement between the previous Australia and New Zealand regions, and there was also a large gap in development between the two regions.
Of course, Arthur will never fly on a second-generation passenger aircraft until it has been effectively tested.
This period will take at least a year to allow the Royal Aircraft Factory to build special planes exclusive to Arthur and the royal family, and secondly to use a large number of flights to test the reliability of the planes and ensure the safety of royal members flying.
In addition to the passenger aircraft at the Royal Aircraft Factory, there is also good news at the Royal Dockyard in Sydney.
Six years have passed since Arthur proposed the theory of aircraft carriers. After many experiments and research, the Royal Sydney Dockyard has also achieved certain results.
In fact, although there are currently no true aircraft carriers in any country in the world, the British achieved true carrier-based aircraft flight as early as four years ago.
In 1912, the Englishman Charles Samson made a very great attempt. He took off from the anchored battleship "Africa" in a Short S.27 biplane. The "runway" was a temporarily laid deck.
Four months later, during a naval review held in Weymouth, England, Samson once again flew a biplane, taking off from the forward deck of the sailing battleship "Hibernia" at a speed of 15 knots.
This result shocked all the officers present and made countries around the world begin to pay attention to the research on water-based take-off platforms, that is, aircraft carriers.
The Royal Sydney Dockyard has also found inspiration from this case and has now come up with two relatively mature aircraft carrier designs.
The first aircraft carrier design scheme was based on the British case, transforming the battleship into an aircraft carrier and using the front deck to take off against the wind.
The advantage of this design is that it retains the combat effectiveness of the battleship. After all aircraft have completely taken off, the aircraft carrier can immediately become a battleship and go into battle.
But the bad news is that because it is an aircraft carrier modified from the main body of a battleship, the length of the deck is not enough, and it needs to go against the wind and have enough speed to allow the aircraft to take off.
Secondly, a deck that is too short cannot accommodate many carrier-based aircraft, and the combat effectiveness of an aircraft carrier depends entirely on the number and performance of carrier-based aircraft. This also determines that the combat effectiveness of such an aircraft carrier is not high.
The third issue is also the deck. Because the deck is too short, landing the aircraft is also a big problem.
Britain and France have done some research on such an aircraft carrier, but they have never been able to solve the problem of aircraft taking off and landing. A deck that is too short will cause the aircraft to have a certain probability of failure during takeoff and landing, or even the aircraft may slide into the sea uncontrollably. .
The second aircraft carrier design completely abandoned the previous battleship design.
The aircraft carrier of the second plan mainly consists of a long deck, armor protection, anti-aircraft weapons, power system and aircraft carrying area.
On the premise of being larger in size, it loses the firepower of a battleship. Such an aircraft carrier relies entirely on the combat effectiveness of carrier-based aircraft. In addition to its own certain anti-aircraft firepower, it does not have any means to fight the enemy.
But the good news is that an aircraft carrier designed in this way can carry more carrier-based aircraft, and because it has a long enough deck, the aircraft can take off calmly under any circumstances.
At the rear of the deck, there is also an interception device. Ensure that the aircraft will taxi for a certain distance after landing, and then be intercepted on the deck by the interceptor device, so that it will not fall into the sea.
Because it has an independent aircraft carrying area, which is the so-called hangar, an aircraft carrier designed in this way can carry up to more than 20 carrier-based aircraft. From the perspective of an aircraft carrier, the aircraft carrier of the second design is far superior to the first in terms of combat effectiveness.
Both aircraft carrier designs have their own advantages and disadvantages. The first design is more conservative and strikes a balance between aircraft carriers and battleships. The aircraft carrier can at least be used as a battleship.
The second design method is more extreme. It is a true aircraft carrier, and its combat effectiveness is determined by those 20 carrier-based aircraft.
Royal Sydney Dockyard submitted both carrier designs to Arthur, who determined the direction of Australasian carrier development.
If Arthur was not a time traveler, he might choose the first option. After all, even if the aircraft carrier is useless, it can still be used as a battleship.
But Arthur understood that sooner or later battleships would be replaced by aircraft carriers. No matter how powerful the current battleships' firepower and armor protection are, their detection range and firepower coverage are far inferior to those of aircraft carriers.
An aircraft carrier can dispatch a large number of carrier-based aircraft to directly destroy battleships from dozens of kilometers away.
Unless the battleship has very excellent air defense capabilities, there is really no good way for the battleship to face these threats in the sky.
Without much hesitation, Arthur immediately determined the design of the second aircraft carrier, named this design the Giant-class aircraft carrier, and handed it over to the Royal Sydney Dockyard for construction.
A two-in-one chapter of 5,000 words. Please vote for me and support me!
(End of chapter)