Volume 1: The Empire Awakens Chapter 28: Exceptional Promotion (Part 1)
After finishing the work at hand and taking advantage of a few days of free time, Tan Renhao went to find Lei Shaoqing who was also living in the hotel. It just so happened that Lei Shaoqing also had a few days of free time.
After discussing it, the two decided to go for a walk in Qingdao city.
Qingdao controls the exit of Jiaodong Bay and is the best deep-water port in the empire, as well as one of the largest naval ports of the empire.
Every winter, ports such as Dagu and Qinhuangdao will experience a short period of freezing , and the First Fleet will then move to Qingdao Port. Therefore, Qingdao is also the second home port of the First Fleet and the most important port base of the First Fleet besides Dagu Port.
Qingdao has a population of over one million and the urban area is very prosperous.
It was the first time for both of them to come to this strange city and they were not familiar with it at all. As a result, with the help of the military uniforms they were wearing, a policeman led them to find the seafood restaurant that General Liao Hanxiang mentioned.
"Yes, the seafood in the north tastes different from what we have!"
Lei Shaoqing's eating manners were very ungentlemanly, and he would never pay attention to these things.
Tan Renhao didn't have much appetite. He was not used to Shandong cuisine, and he grew up by the sea in Wenzhou. What seafood had he not eaten? However, this time Tan Renhao was very generous and ordered several signature dishes. Anyway, Liao Hanxiang had approved a large sum of funds for him, so he didn't need to be so polite when eating at a public restaurant.
"I heard that the three new types of ammunition you ordered have been finalized, and the experiments were very successful."
As Lei Shaoqing spoke, he wiped the oil stains on his hands on the tablecloth.
"This time, the Fifth Fleet is preparing for a major refit, right?"
Tan Renhao smiled and shook his head.
"Both bombs are powerful, and the new torpedoes are more powerful than our highest expectations. However, the Fifth Fleet does not have the right aircraft to use these new ammunition."
"No suitable plane?"
Lei Shaoqing frowned slightly.
"Yes, the performance of the three bombers currently equipped by the Fleet Air Force is not enough to bring out the power of these three types of ammunition."
Tan Renhao smiled bitterly. He had already realized this problem a long time ago.
The Fifth Naval Aviation Wing has four main fighter aircraft: one is the "Gull" carrier-based fighter, the other three are the "Gorilla" torpedo bomber, the "Pelican" dive bomber, and the "Big Bird" horizontal bomber.
These three types of bombers were all developed fifteen years ago and are all biplane structures. Not only are they slow and have poor maneuverability, but more importantly, their bomb load and range are completely unable to meet the needs of new ammunition.
For example, the Gannet can only carry 800 kg of torpedoes, while the combat weight of the Swordfish torpedo exceeds 1,500 kg.
The other two types of bombers can only carry 250 kg of aerial bombs and cannot carry 500 kg of bombs at all.
Having good ammunition alone is not enough. If you cannot drop it on the enemy's warships, it will only be useless.
"But this problem should be solved soon, right?"
Lei Shaoqing smiled slyly, "I heard that Marshal Sagittin has approved the design and construction plan of a new class of aircraft carriers. Now the people in the Equipment Technology Office are busy determining the technical requirements of the new aircraft carriers, and the four shipyards in Dalian, Qingdao, Songjiang, and Guangzhou are all accepting orders for naval aircraft carriers.
If the plan to build a new aircraft carrier has been finalized, then the design of new fighter jets must also be being accelerated.
Do you have any acquaintances in Shenyang?"
Tan Renhao frowned slightly, then shook his head.
Lei Shaoqing was talking about the Shenyang Aviation Corporation, the empire's largest aircraft manufacturing company, which also provides combat aircraft for the Imperial Navy and Army Aviation.
"I also heard from others that last year, several engineers from Shenfei went to the United Kingdom and the United States of America respectively. I heard that they had great feelings and accelerated the development of Feng 12 after returning. This year, the design of Feng 12 has been basically completed and is now being tested."
Lei Shaoqing looked a little smug, as he had a more informed source of information.
Feng 12 is a high-power aircraft engine developed by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation's aviation engine department. Its development began five years ago, but problems , and as a result, its power has been unable to meet the requirements of new fighter jets.
Now, among other powers, only the United States of America has developed the first aircraft engine equipped with a turbocharger, and the British Empire has also made great progress in research in this area.
If the Feng 12 can be successfully developed, then the Empire will have the world's most advanced aviation engine technology and will be able to use this engine as a basis to manufacture the world's most advanced combat aircraft.
"Where did you get this information?"
Tan Renhao looked at Lei Shaoqing with a little surprise.
"I always have my own channels. If you are willing to tell me about the exercises between the First Fleet and the Japanese, I can consider it..."
Tan Renhao immediately smiled and shook his head.
"Whether you want to tell me or not, I don't care anyway. I'm afraid I'll know more details when I return."
"Oh, never mind, I'll tell you anyway!"
The blackmail was unsuccessful, Lei Shaoqing shook his head helplessly, "Remember Shen Xiaohu from North Lane?"
Tan Renhao nodded. Shen Xiaohu was two years older than them and was also from Wenzhou. He lived in Chengbei Lane, very close to Lei Shaoqing's home.
"He went to Shenyang Aircraft Corporation last year and worked on engines. When I arrived at the Southwest Fleet, he was dealing with a batch of faulty engines there. I talked to him and got the information out of him."
Lei Shaoqing lit a cigarette. "I heard that the Feng 12 will be finalized by the end of this year at the earliest, and the design progress of several fighters powered by the Feng 12 has been accelerated. If things move quickly, the Army Aviation will start testing the new fighter by the end of next year, and the Navy Aviation will be able to get the new fighter by the beginning of the year after next at the latest."
Tan Rekan glanced at his friend. If the information provided by Lei Shaoqing was accurate, then it wouldn't be long before the HNA would have new combat aircraft.
The core of any new fighter jet is the engine. With the engine, everything will be easy!
"Now that I've told you everything I know, shouldn't you give me some consolation prize?"
Lei Shaoqing smiled slyly again.
Tan Renhao sighed, feeling that it would be a bit unfair to his friend if he didn't say anything.
He pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "I can't tell you anything else, but now I am more determined in my opinion, and soon, you will see it!"
