Volume 1: The Empire Awakens Chapter 12: A Different Military Life (Part 1)
Tan Renhao was the last one to arrive at the office. To his surprise, Hao Dongjue had completely recovered and was chatting with Chang Jianxin. Obviously, neither of them knew what they should do.
"Renhao, I'm so sorry. I heard that I got your clothes dirty last night?"
After Hao Dongjue recovered, he seemed a little guilty.
"It's okay, I've already washed it!"
Tan Renhao asked the three people to drag the chair over, and then took out the plan that Colonel Ji Xiaobin gave him.
"This is the task the colonel gave us yesterday. The Fifth Air Wing (the carrier's aircraft carrier, with the same number as the fleet) has been training on shore for a year. The pilots are familiar with the methods of taking off and landing on the simulated deck. Now, the colonel wants us to come up with a new training plan.
First, ten top pilots complete landing and take-off training on the aircraft carrier, and then they will lead the other pilots to complete the work on board.
Therefore, our plan involves both aviation and navigation.
If everything goes well, the fleet will leave port in a month for offshore training.
In addition to developing this training plan, we also monitor the entire training process and correct any problems that arise.”
"Just the three of us?"
Chang Jianxin frowned slightly.
“Yes, there are only three of us doing this work now!”
Tan Renhao let out a long sigh, "Besides, this is the first aircraft carrier training of the Imperial Navy, so we don't have any experience to learn from others. Tomorrow, we will go to the flight unit to take a look and learn some actual situations from the pilots, and then we can start to formulate a training plan!"
"Then I'll be in charge of the aviation part!"
Hao Dongjue laughed and said, "If possible, I would like to fly a few times myself to get a feel for it. This way we can better understand what kind of situations will occur during training!"
Tan Renhao nodded.
"I will apply to the colonel. Of course, I can't guarantee whether the colonel will approve it."
Hao Dongjue nodded a little excitedly. It seemed that he was an absolute flying fan.
"Old Chang, you are in charge of the navigation of the aircraft carrier. Is there any problem?"
Chang Jianxin shook his head to indicate that there was no problem.
"Then let's come up with an outline today and show it to the colonel in the afternoon!"
The three of them immediately got busy, each using their own abilities, especially the expertise they had acquired in school and the military.
Tan Renhao was responsible for integrating the two people's plans together.
That afternoon, Tan Renhao submitted their plan outline to Colonel Ji Xiaobin, who was still busy handling fleet affairs. Ji Xiaobin immediately approved their visit to the flight unit and the fleet for actual inspection, and also agreed to let Hao Dongjue fly to obtain first-hand data.
The next morning, three second lieutenants rushed to Kadena Air Station north of Naha Port.
This is the air station of the Imperial Naval Air Force. It is not small in scale and can accommodate more than 200 bombers and fighters. It has a permanent staff of more than 5,000 people.
When the Fifth Fleet's aircraft carriers dock, all the carriers' aircraft will be concentrated here.
All the training of the 5th Aviation Company, except for training at sea with the fleet, is also carried out here.
The commander of the 5th Company is a colonel, but in terms of personnel relations, he is directly under the command of the Naval Aviation Command, not the 5th Fleet. He is only under the command of the 5th Fleet in combat and training.
Therefore, this colonel officer could not be considered a member of the Fifth Fleet, and he was not very polite to the three second lieutenants sent by Ji Xiaobin. At least he did not make Tan Renhao and the others feel that this colonel officer was a little arrogant.
For the next five days, the three of them lived in a small room with three beds in the air station. During the day, they went directly to the aviation unit to exchange experiences with the main pilots, familiarize themselves with the performance of various fighter planes, and explore the advantages and disadvantages of these fighter planes in combat use.
The five days of hard work paid off. When they returned to the fleet headquarters, the three of them had a new understanding of the training plan and had sufficient confidence in completing it.
However, on that day, they went to the "Taizu" aircraft carrier anchored in the port.
The "Emperor" class aircraft carrier is the first batch of fast fleet aircraft carriers built by the Imperial Navy. There are three ships in total, namely "Taizu", "Taizong" and "Xuanzong". Among them, "Taizu" is the lead ship and is now the aviation flagship of the Fifth Fleet.
Its standard displacement is 18,000 tons, and its displacement when fully loaded with fuel, ammunition and other combat supplies is 23,000 tons.
The aircraft carrier is 235 meters long, and the flight deck is 230 meters long. It has a total of eight decks. The hangar area under the flight deck reaches 3,500 square meters, which can accommodate 46 fighter jets. In addition, 26 fighter jets can be moored on the flight deck.
The island is on the right side of the flight deck, relatively forward, and has three bridges for navigation, aviation, and command. Three huge chimneys are arranged on the right rear side of the island.
In addition, six twin-mounted 130mm dual-purpose anti-aircraft guns and twelve quadruple-mounted 40mm anti-aircraft guns were arranged on both sides of the aircraft carrier.
There are more than 2,700 officers and soldiers on the ship (including aviation forces), and a staff of about 50 people can be added.
Because it was high tide, the "Taizu" docked at the pier looked extremely tall.
Tan Renhao couldn't help but wonder what kind of power could build such a huge warship.
This was the first time he saw the Empire's first fast fleet carrier at such a close distance!
"Three sirs, let's go up first!"
The one who came to receive them was a non-commissioned officer on the aircraft carrier. He was very polite and said, "I will show you around first. If you have any questions , you can ask me at any time. Of course, you can also ask any other officers and soldiers. The colonel has already informed us, so there is no need to keep it secret from you!"
Tan Renhao and his team immediately followed the non-commissioned officer onto the aircraft carrier.
If this aircraft carrier looked like a behemoth at the dock, then when standing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier, Tan Renhao could only feel that this was an unprecedented warship, a warship that would change the entire face of naval warfare.
The three men lived on the aircraft carrier for three days in the officers' cabin. While they felt that life on the warship was indeed hard, they also gained a comprehensive understanding of the warship.
